‘We’ve had enough’

TGI Fridays, the American-style restaurant chain, is facing its fourth Friday (June 8) of strikes in a row as members of Unite, vow to keep striking  in their dispute over tips and alleged minimum wage abuses.

The 24 hour strike by workers at TGI Fridays’ restaurants in Milton Keynes Stadium, the Trafford Centre Greater Manchester and London’s Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden will be marked with evening pickets as well as leafleting sessions in Manchester city centre.

Next week, (June 12) at 11am workers will deliver a letter to the business secretary Greg Clark at the Department of Business, Energy, Innovation and Skills (BEIS) in London outlining concerns that employers, like TGI Fridays, are continuing to use credit card tips left by customers as a tactic to drive down pay, two years after the government promised action to crackdown on ‘rip off’ tip scams.

Unite has warned TGI Fridays that it will keep up the pressure on both the company and the government until new rules are introduced to stamp out exploitative tip and other scams in the UK’s restaurant industry.

“TGI Fridays needs to realise that our members will not back down and that Unite is right by their side in the fight for fair pay and tips,” said Unite regional officer Dave Turnbull.

“The company’s refusal to sit down with staff representatives to agree a way forward is damaging the brand’s reputation. Its failure to recognise the hardship caused by its decision to take 40 per cent of their tips paid on a card is deeply hurtful and insulting.

“Some of our members have been with the company for 15 years,” he highlighted. “They are proud to be part of the Fridays’ family.

“They didn’t kick up much of a fuss when the company axed time and a half for working bank holidays, or even when they lost their free staff meals. But when they were given just two days’ notice that they’d be losing 40 per cent of their card tips to the kitchen teams, they had enough.

“It has become clear to Unite that TGI Fridays introduced this tip policy change to claw back the cost of the rises in the government’s national living wage (currently £7.83 an hour for over 25 year olds) and to avoid paying kitchen staff a proper wage.

“Evidence provided to Unite shows that the company have been less than truthful in claiming all kitchen staff have received a pay rise,” he went on to say. “From what we have seen the rates for kitchen workers are now lower than they were in 2014.

“TGI Fridays are not the only ones to do this, which is why  the government needs to act to stop rogue bosses, like TGI Fridays, abusing tips and exploiting loopholes to cheat low waged staff out of the money they’re rightfully owed.

“That’s why we’re calling on the business secretary to publish the report on tipping. Because if it doesn’t, companies like TGI Fridays, will keep using tips and manipulating the systems used to distribute tips internally to ‘rip off’ workers and customers alike, as well as undermining the government’s national living wage.”