PHOTOS show a rally taking place outside a town pub following a dispute over contracts and wages.
Staff at Saint James’ Tavern in Kemp Town are demanding an end to zero-hours contracts, a rise in the minimum wage to £11.50 and a comprehensive sick pay scheme.
Bar manager Jake Marvin said he and his colleagues at the Madeira Place pub were on strike for “the fundamental right to respect in the workplace”.
“As workers we have felt constantly undermined, the physical and emotional well-being of staff as a whole feels entirely neglected,” he said.
However, Victoria Ann Bennett and Zak Abedi, leaseholders of Saint James Tavern, say all bar staff are paid at least £9.50 an hour, with the assistant manager and manager receiving annual salaries.
“We’re not breaking any laws here,” they said.
“All employees receive their holiday pay and sick pay. We have even paid some staff members in advance when they go on vacation or need money early because they are waiting for their student loans. »
Strikers say they are “fed up with low wages” and are calling for a sick pay scheme that includes cover for Covid-19-related absences, rather than the basic statutory sick pay (SSP).
They also want a security response team on site at all times and voluntary recognition of United Voices of the World (UVW) as their union.
Bartender Tris Houseman said: “Feeling undervalued and disrespected by the people you’re generating money for, money that we barely see, is so humiliating and demeaning on such a personal level.
“For me and my friends and colleagues at St James Tavern, for minimum conditions and respect at work, that’s why I’m on strike.”
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-25 17:57:42
