OWNERS of a number of popular hospitality venues in Glasgow have U-turned on the decision to give their staff a pay cut.
Unions bosses have expressed “delight” at itison’s decision to reverse the wage cut – which could’ve been anywhere between 50p to 90p an hour for employees – as Brel announced they were going to stop being a Real Living Wage employer.
Bryan Simpson, lead organiser at Unite Hospitality, said: "We’re delighted that itison have decided to do a U-turn on their previous decision and will now be paying the real living wage rate of £10.90.
"We would now urge the company to become an accredited real living wage employer with the Living Wage Foundation so that they can rebuild the trust and reputation that has been damaged by their decision in May with workers and customers alike."
The Real Living Wage is a voluntary scheme businesses can choose to take part in; the national living wage is set by the Government.
READ MORE: Irn-Bru supply under threat as workers back strikes
At the time of the announcement Unite called the change "morally reprehensible" but Brel countered that the company had to move to a "more sustainable" wage model and added that wages are topped up to an average of £13.14 an hour by customer tips.
It said it had introduced a customer service charge, 100% of which is shared among staff.
Outwith London, the national minimum wage in the UK is £10.18 for those under 23 and £10.42 for those over 23. The real living wage is £10.90 for everyone over the age of 18.
A spokesperson for itison said: “Unite Hospitality has issued a series of social media posts today regarding itison venues.
“The posts are factually incorrect and misleading. Unite Hospitality had no involvement in any change of pay at Brel or any of our other venues. We are taking legal action against Unite for prior factually incorrect social media posts which are damaging to our business and team members who work there.
“We’re delighted to be at the forefront of pay and benefits in the hospitality industry and will continue to strive for what is in the interests of our teams and business.”
READ MORE: BrewDog plans massive global expansion after bar and hotel profits soar
Brel also said that all staff, regardless of age, are paid the same rate and that the addition of customer tips represents a 14% pay rise.
The basic staff rate previously was £9.90, which was the previous Real Living Wage, before an increase to £10.90 in April this year.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here