Still waiting

As the Living Wage increased in London from ÂŁ8.80 per hour to ÂŁ9.15, tens of thousands of workers across the nation benefited from a pay rise as more and more employers pledged to pay its workers the minimum wage required to live a decent life.

 
But for millions more, the Living Wage, a voluntary pay rate set above the statutory minimum wage, is still but a distant dream.

 
Unite’s hotel workers have been waiting a full two years for the hotel group IHG, which owns the Crowne Plaza and various Holiday Inns in the capital, to make good on its 2012 promise to phase in the London Living Wage over a five-year period.

 
The pledge was made as part of the hotel group’s bid to secure an Olympic contract.

 
Today (November 5), Unite hotel workers will take matters into their own hands with a day of action outside the Crowne Plaza in Blackfriars, London (EC4V 6DB) from 10am.

 
No progress

 
Since 2012, the hotel group has made no progress on its pledge, and London Mayor Boris Johnson has abdicated his responsibility to push the hotel group—which successfully won the Olympic contract—into paying up.

 
A large proportion of IHG workers are sub-contracted through employment agencies and earn £6.50 per hour – the legally-binding National Minimum Wage.

 
IHG directly employs a smaller number of staff on minimum rates, typically ÂŁ6.80 an hour, most of whom are food and beverage assistants, room service personnel and luggage porters.

 
Unite regional officer Dave Turnbull argued that the fact that so many workers at IHG are still on such low-pay indicates IHG has made no plans in keeping its pledge.

 
“£6.80 is the rate IHG introduced in June 2012 when they committed to phasing in the London Living Wage, so despite three consecutive hikes in the Living Wage rate, there seems to have been no progress at all in terms of phasing it in,” he said.

 
Profits up

 
Many employers who do not pay the Living Wage argue that they simply cannot afford to. Turnbull says in the case of IHG, this excuse does not apply.

 
“IHG’s back-tracking on its promise is especially scandalous given its latest quarterly report showing outstanding profits,” he said. “According to IHG’s own figures, it just now experienced the strongest quarterly growth in revenue per available room over the past two years.”

 
“The gap between the average worker at an IHG hotel and the highest paid director is jaw-dropping—the highest paid at IHG out-earns the average worker by a factor of 94,” Turnbull added. “The claim that IHG cannot afford to pay its workers a living wage is preposterous.”

 
Call for minimum wage hike

 
Before Unite hotel workers gather at the Crowne Plaza from 10am, Unite will be giving oral evidence to the Low Pay Commission, making the case for a £1.50 hike in the National Minimum Wage, a hike that Unite’s research has shown is entirely affordable for employers across the economy.

 
Turnbull explained this as an opportunity to jumpstart IHG’s broken Living Wage promise.

 
“As we present our evidence to the Low Pay Commission, calling for an £8 an hour National Minimum Wage, we challenge IHG to demonstrate their commitment to phasing in the London Living Wage by establishing £8 as a minimum rate with immediate effect on a voluntary basis,” Turnbull said.

 
After Unite gives oral evidence to the Low Pay Commission–the independent body tasked with advising the government on setting the National Minimum Wage–members will meet outside the Commission office for a photo-op at 10am.

 
Unite members will then proceed to the Crowne Plaza in Blackfriars for the morning of action. Unite assistant general secretary Diana Holland will hand-deliver a letter to IHG management demanding the hotel group keep its Living Wage promise.

 
Stay tuned on UNITElive.org for the latest on Living Wage Week, which runs through Saturday November 8.