Unite Hospitality speaks out against riots

Terrifying riots that took place in cities across the UK earlier this month have left many shocked and traumatised, including workers whose workplaces were targets.

These have included hotels housing asylum seekers, many of them staffed by Unite members. Among the most terrifying of these was in Rotherham on Sunday, August 4, when rioters smashed windows of a Holiday Inn Express housing more than 200 asylum seekers and attempted to set it on fire.

The BBC reported that hotel staff pushed fridges and other furniture up against an entrance to try to form a make-shift barrier and stop rioters breaching the building.

 One anonymous hotel worker told the BBC that the riot was “absolutely terrifying”, while other staff were reported to have told friends that they were “petrified” and that “things went sour really fast”.

Other riots outside hotels included the Royal Hotel in Hull and another Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth, Staffordshire, where a 17-year-old Kurdish refugee told the BBC that during the riot he feared for his life. 

The refugee, who had fled violent conflict in his home country, said, “I was terrified. I escaped death myself from my home country and found refuge. And now here, I thought I was going to die last night.”

Immediately following the riots targeting hotels and other hospitality businesses, Unite Hospitality Combine issued a statement condemning what it called “far-right terrorist attacks”.

“There are no legitimate concerns that can justify the destruction of workplaces, the burning of public libraries or the intentional endangerment of human life,” the statement read.

“Hotels housing asylum seekers (including children) who are fleeing war and persecution in their own countries have been bricked and burned by people who have been convinced that those from other countries or of different races or religions are somehow to blame for the institutional neglect of de-industrialised communities.”

The statement noted that while Unite Hospitality “rejects absolutely the Islamophobia and racism” fuelling the riots, it went on to say that “these are not small divisions that can be healed by throwing hundreds of people in jail” but rather they are “huge fissures that can only be healed by years of grassroots organising in communities that need solidarity”.

You can read the full statement here.

Meanwhile, Unite East Midlands hospitality branch passed an emergency motion last week committing to tangible action to organise against the far-right, including through community outreach, political education programmes, counter-protest support and workplace organising, among other measures.

You can read their full emergency motion here.

In the wake of the riots, the TUC has also this week issued guidance for reps on protecting workers from racist abuse, violence and harassment. The briefing highlights that it is employers’ responsibility to ensure workers’ safety and outlines steps employers can and should be taking. The guidance also emphasises that if a worker feels unsafe in their workplace, they are legally entitled to withdraw from or refuse to return to the workplace without detriment.

Commenting on riots targeting hotels, Unite lead hospitality organiser Bryan Simpson said, “The attacks on refugee and asylum seeker hotels didn’t just put fleeing asylum seeker families at risk but the workers within them. We’ve had reports from members who had to evacuate guests and themselves from their own workplaces as they were being petrol bombed by people who couldn’t care whether they lived or died. 

 “Hospitality is the most diverse sector in the British and Irish economies,” he added. “We will continue to do everything we can to support hospitality workers to collectively challenge racism, xenophobia and bigotry in the workplace and on the streets.

 “As for the wider trade union movement, we have an absolute obligation as the largest force for transformative change in society, to defeat fascism as the biggest threat to our class,” Bryan went on to say. “The best way we can do this is to unify our communities through education and struggle – this means giving workers the skills and organising tools to collectively win the jobs, pay and conditions that the bosses and politicians will never give us willingly.”

You can read Unite general secretary Sharon Graham’s statement on the riots here.

If you are a hospitality worker hoping to join Unite, find out more here.

By Hajera Blagg