{"id":15194,"date":"2018-05-11T15:30:09","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T14:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=15194"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:45","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:45","slug":"tgi-fridays-tuc-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=15194","title":{"rendered":"‘Front runners’ for fair tips"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

As the TUC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s march in London approaches on Saturday (May 12), the stakes have never been higher \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 3m people are stuck on zero hours contracts or another form of insecure work, workers have endured years of falling living standards not seen since Victorian times, all the while the NHS and other public services have been slashed to the bone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite member Lucy* and her colleagues at TGI Fridays, an American-owned chain restaurant with dozens of branches in the UK, know that now more than ever is the time to take a stand against the injustices now plaguing Britain.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Back in January, TGI Fridays management pushed through a change in its tipping policy with only two days\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 notice which would see 40 per cent of waiters\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 card tips be taken from them and distributed to kitchen staff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This flagrant tip theft amounts to, on average, \u00c2\u014165 a week \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more than \u00c2\u0141250 a month. When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re barely eking out a living on the minimum wage, these tips can be a lifeline.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI know someone who has lost nearly \u00c2\u0141800 since the policy was introduced,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Lucy tells UNITELive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe son of one of my colleagues recently got a place on a pro-football under-16s team. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s had to stop him going to training because she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford the fuel to take him \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart-breaking.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Enough is enough’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Tips theft isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the first attack on their pay and terms and conditions either \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had their overtime premium payments taken away and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also been forced to undertake unpaid training at home that can take up hours of their time. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just the tip of the iceberg working for a company whose entire business model is driven by cutting costs at the expense of both workers and customers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The TGI Fridays workers at restaurants in Milton Keynes and Covent Garden, London, have now decided enough is enough \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for the first time in the restaurant chain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s history they have joined together, unionised and voted 100 per cent in favour to strike<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucy, 26, says the journey to organising their workplace \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in a sector like hospitality, where anti-union tactics are entrenched and job insecurity and bullying are rife \u00e2\u20ac\u201c hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been an easy ride.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bManagement has persistently lied to us and tried to pit us against each other,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Lucy explains. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve tried to portray us as selfish for not wanting to share tips with kitchen staff when this is blatantly untrue. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re more than happy to share tips with all staff \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we already do with bar staff and serving assistants \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but it must be done fairly and with our input.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The real reason behind bosses swiping tips from TGI Fridays waiters is their refusal to pay kitchen staff properly. Their wages have stagnated over the years so, naturally, there are high levels of turnover in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat management has pushed this through without talking to us shows that they themselves know this is unfair,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Lucy notes, highlighting that kitchen staff too are backing the strike. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe bosses have even admitted that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve introduced this policy to address recruitment and retention problems with kitchen staff.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

High morale<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Lucy, who comes from a family of trade union members, has helped in an organising drive that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s seen a growing number of TGI Fridays workers across the UK join over the last five months.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMost people have been very receptive to the idea of joining a union despite never having been in or in some cases even heard of one,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she says of TGI Fridays workers she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spoken to. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTGI Fridays workers tend to be young people \u00e2\u20ac\u201c often young mums \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and since joining they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve really embraced having a voice in the workplace, something that before they might never have had.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Morale among the workers readying themselves to down tools next Friday (May 18) is high, with union meetings well attended.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEven before next week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strike, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made gains \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in January, management was going to push through the tipping policy two days after telling us. Once they heard that people started joining the union, they agreed to delay the rollout of their policy for four weeks \u00e2\u20ac\u201c something they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d refused to do when we initially complained before Unite.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TUC March\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Still, the fear of losing your job \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a job that many have held onto for years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is a palpable one felt by many of the striking workers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEven though being part of the union has given us a degree of protection, a lot of people are understandably afraid to publicly come out against the company.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why, Lucy says, she and some of her colleagues will be attending the TUC demonstration on Saturday (May 12).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be there to give a voice to the people who can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be there \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the people who feel powerless. TGI Fridays and other restaurants keep saying zero hours contracts, low pay, and unfair tipping policies are all just the \u00e2\u20ac\u0098industry norm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. Well, working seven days a week used to be the norm until people collectively stood up against it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to start somewhere; to be the front runners in hospitality alongside McDonald\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strikers and others, to organise and say we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had enough. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only way things will change.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite regional officer Dave Turnbull agreed and urged everyone \u00e2\u20ac\u201c especially young people \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to attend tomorrow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s march.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bA new generation of workers in companies like TGI Fridays and McDonald\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s are saying enough is enough when it comes to low pay, zero hours and insecurity. Young workers should follow their brave and inspirational stance and join this march to fight for a better future for all.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more about tomorrow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (May 12) TUC march \u00e2\u20ac\u201c including details on free transport \u00e2\u20ac\u201c here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*name changed to protect privacy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the TUC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s march in London approaches on Saturday (May 12), the stakes have never been higher \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 3m people are stuck on zero hours contracts or another form of insecure work, workers have endured years of falling living standards not seen since Victorian times, all the while the NHS and other public services have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[302,888,915],"wps_subtitle":"TGI Fridays workers join TUC march for a new deal","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15194"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15194"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26200,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15194\/revisions\/26200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}