Employees working for popular pub chain Wetherspoon in Brighton have received a pay increase in response to strike action conducted in October 2018.
The pay increase amounts to an additional 60p per hour for Brighton-based employees; this consists of 40p due to changes to employees' pay bands, as well as an extra 20p an hour from Wetherspoon's national, annual pay rise, which has been awarded to all UK staff.
This annual pay rise has been brought forward to be effective in November 2018, rather than early 2019.
The pay deal further includes an extra £1 an hour for employees working shifts between 12am and 5am, while the 18-20 pay band has been removed altogether. Rota issues across the two Brighton pubs involved in the industrial action were also addressed as part of this action; this resulted in the abolition of overnight shifts.
Elsie Bradley Middle, bar associate at the Post and Telegraph, said: “The pay rise that has come into effect this month has shown that our organising really does work. On top of the [organisation-wide] increase, we’ve won an additional pay rise for all Brighton pubs. If we can achieve that with just two Brighton pubs striking, imagine what we can do when we continue to build and show our strength. This win is just the beginning.”
Employees involved in the industrial action have stated that they will continue to campaign, and are encouraging others Wetherspoon’s UK pubs to join them in seeking a pay rate of at least £10 an hour, including equal wages for all ages, security of hours and for trade union recognition.
Chris Heppell, kitchen team leader at the Post and Telegraph, added: “By organising into a trade union, we’ve improved our pubs, won a substantial pay rise for Brighton and changed things we couldn’t have changed alone. We’ve made the [organisation] listen to us and take action. We will keep building our union. We want every Wetherspoon [employee] in the country to be paid a wage we can thrive on. And to have a say in all of the decisions that affect our working lives.”
Wetherspoon was unavailable for comment at time of publication.
