{"id":10117,"date":"2016-10-05T15:26:12","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T14:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=10117"},"modified":"2016-10-05T15:26:12","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T14:26:12","slug":"poor-odds-for-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=10117","title":{"rendered":"Poor odds for workers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unite will be protesting outside bookmaker William Hill\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shops in London, Birkenhead, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Gloucester and Southampton on Friday (October 7), as part of a nationwide day of action against the gambling giant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans to slash shop managers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 pay by \u00c2\u01416,000 a year on average.<\/p>\n

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Hundreds of long-serving and loyal shop managers and deputy managers working in the firm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 2,400 betting shops face losing thousands of pounds in pay under the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s re-structuring shake-up.<\/p>\n

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The gambling giant is currently consulting on proposals to replace the roles of shop manager and deputy manager with a new \u00e2\u20ac\u0098customer experience manager\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 with a corresponding \u00c2\u01416,000 cut in pay on average.<\/p>\n

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The company, which is the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest operator, posting an operating profit of \u00c2\u0141190m last year, has faced strong criticism in the past for its practice of forcing staff to work in shops alone.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe protesters will be calling on William Hill to stop the attack on workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 pay, while urging workers to join Unite,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite national officer Rhys McCarthy.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHundreds of loyal and hardworking shop managers and deputy managers face losing thousands of pounds in pay under plans which will see their wages shrink by about \u00c2\u01416,000 on average to between \u00c2\u014116,662 – \u00c2\u014120,721 a year.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very poor odds for our members, who are being asked to do the same job for less pay, and a far cry from the sizeable pay off\u00c2\u00a0 former top boss, James Henderson, is likely to walk away with for his two short years at the helm,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe earned a cool \u00c2\u01412.3m in total in his two years as head of the gambling giant.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bA \u00c2\u01416,000 a year pay cut is a huge amount of money to lose. It has left our members fearful for the future, deeply worried about how they will pay keep up with their mortgage repayments or pay the rent when the pay cut comes.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way to treat hardworking and loyal employees,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCarthy argued. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bNow more than ever workers need strong trade unions like Unite on their side to stop profitable businesses like William Hill driving down wages and attacking their conditions.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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William Hill is the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest gambling operator, employing around 16,000 people with main offices in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar. It has 2,370 betting shops and posted an operating profit of \u00c2\u0141190m in 2015.<\/p>\n

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The national protest will be staged at William Hill, 77 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4ET, from 12.30pm to 1.30pm.<\/p>\n

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Details for additional regional protests are:<\/p>\n