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Labour is 100% behind McStrike, John McDonnell tells rally | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Labour has thrown its weight behind unprecedented industrial action by employees in the hospitality sector, as the party instructed its MPs to join workers from Wetherspoons, McDonald’s and TGI Fridays on picket lines around the country. | |
In a day of action by workers in a sector where unions are only now managing to put down roots, members of the grassroots Labour campaign group Momentum staged pickets outside a number of McDonald’s outlets. Uber Eats and Deliveroo couriers were also striking. | |
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, addressed a rally in Leicester Square, central London, and pledged that Labour in power would act swiftly to introduce a £10-an-hour minimum wage, one of the central demands of those taking part in the strikes on Thursday. | |
“Last night a briefing went out to all Labour MPs, which basically states if there is a picket line in your constituency you have responsibility to join it,” he told hundreds of people at the rally, including supporters from unions such as Unite and the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, and activists from the campaign group War on Want. | |
“Let me be absolutely clear that the Labour party is 100% behind this strike. We will fulfil the promise of our late leader John Smith, made way back in the 1990s – trade union rights for everyone,” McDonnell said. | |
Those gathered in Leicester Square included workers from Wetherspoons restaurants in Brighton, who had travelled to London after beginning a strike at midnight. Among them was Katie Southworth, 22, who described her work at Wetherspoons over the past two years as highly demanding and stressful. | |
“Currently about about 80% of my wages goes on accommodation. If we were able to win £10 an hour, it would give me the opportunity to be able to live a fulfilling life, because at the moment I have no hope of being able to live independently or get a mortgage – things that people have taken for granted,” she said. | |
The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, described the strike as “small but growing”. | |
“These are often young workers who increasingly feel they have nothing to lose. They are on low pay, often without training and often on zero-hour contracts,” she said. | |
“Although these are small-scale actions, they are growing and spreading, and what I find really touching is that these are workers from different companies coming out to support each other. | |
“The key point is that a lot of these very rich and powerful multinational firms have deliberately put their workers on contracts that keep them scared. If you are on a zero-hours contract, they don’t have to sack you, they can just stop offering you shifts. So it’s a big ask to stick your head above the parapet.” | |
Customers arriving at McDonald’s outlets around London were greeted by noisy early-morning pickets by Momentum activists carrying banners. Navendu Mishra, who was involved in one of them, said: “Fast-food workers are among the lowest paid of any industry. Their contracts are often precarious and many face disgraceful working conditions, including widespread sexual harassment.” | |
Workers at UberEats are asking to be paid £5 for each delivery and a further £1 per mile travelled making those deliveries. Last month, drivers staged a series of walkouts after the company reduced its minimum payment per delivery from £4.26 to £3.50. | |
The companies targeted by the strike have defended the pay and conditions of their workers. A spokesman for TGI Fridays said: “Our team members are a part of our Fridays family. We believe they should be, and are, treated and paid fairly. Out of a workforce of over 5,500 team members, less than 1% are involved in this action.” | |
An UberEats spokesman said: “In response to feedback from couriers we’ve made some changes to our payment structure in London, which brings it into line with other cities. Our door is always open for individual couriers to speak to us about any issues they’re having.” | |
JD Wetherspoon said it had increased its spending on pay by £20m in the year to July, and would raise it by a further £27m this year. | JD Wetherspoon said it had increased its spending on pay by £20m in the year to July, and would raise it by a further £27m this year. |
The pub chain’s chairman, Tim Martin, said: “It is understandable that there is pressure on pay with low unemployment and a housing shortage. However, bonuses, free shares and other benefits should be taken into account in assessing pay. I don’t think it would benefit employees overall if, as some suggest, Wetherspoon ended bonuses, free shares and other benefits, and increased the basic rate of pay. | The pub chain’s chairman, Tim Martin, said: “It is understandable that there is pressure on pay with low unemployment and a housing shortage. However, bonuses, free shares and other benefits should be taken into account in assessing pay. I don’t think it would benefit employees overall if, as some suggest, Wetherspoon ended bonuses, free shares and other benefits, and increased the basic rate of pay. |
“It’s easy to be cynical about business, but companies like McDonald’s, TGI Fridays and thousands of other individuals and businesses make a big contribution to the economy and provide valuable work and experience for many people.” | “It’s easy to be cynical about business, but companies like McDonald’s, TGI Fridays and thousands of other individuals and businesses make a big contribution to the economy and provide valuable work and experience for many people.” |
Industrial action | Industrial action |
Gig economy | Gig economy |
Trade unions | |
Labour | |
John McDonnell | |
TUC | |
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