Glasgow Village hotel members overwhelmingly back strike
Workers at Village Glasgow are demanding equal pay at the real living wage of £12.60 per hour, paid breaks, and addressing a disparity between what under-21 workers are paid in Edinburgh compared to Glasgow.
Read More:
When the issues were raised with the company it said it had 'no plans' to pay the real living wage or introduce paid breaks, which it said was in line with practices across the hospitality sector.
In addition, the company said it had already carried out an internal grievance investigation into the pay disparity with Edinburgh which concluded that the higher rate of pay in the capital was due to the higher cost of living.
An email sent to staff pointed to existing employee benefits such as gym and spa memberships, discounted hotel rooms and high street shopping discounts and said raising wages and paying for breaks was not "financially achievable" without it "adversely impacting on our ability to provide these other benefits".
The strike is believed to be the first in a major British hotel chain in over 40 years.
Bryan Simpson, National Lead for Unite Hospitality said: 'Our members at the Village Hotel in Glasgow have just delivered a resounding and historic vote in favour of strike action, giving them a clear legal mandate to shut down the most profitable parts of the company's flagship site.
'The ball is now with Village Hotels senior management. If they want to avoid the first hotel strike in nearly half a century, they must return to the negotiating table with a meaningful offer - one that includes equal pay, the real living wage, and paid breaks.'
Village Hotel Club has been contacted for comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Make your own ice cream from scratch with Lakeland's ‘compact' kitchen gadget – and it's £50 cheaper than Argos' version
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SUMMER is here and if your little ones go feral at the sound of an ice-cream van, Lakeland has just the thing. You can beat the heat with a handy gadget that allows you to whip up your own frozen dessert at home. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 A Cuisinart Solo Scoops Ice Cream Maker is currently available from Lakeland for just £29.99 Credit: Lakeland If you and your family enjoy a sweet indulgence, investing in your own ice cream maker might be the best way to save while still enjoying your summer. And since the British weather can be so unpredictable, you may be hesistant to fork out for a fancy gadget that only gets limited use. Well don't worry because Lakeland has slashed the price of its Cuisinart Solo Scoops Ice Cream Maker to just £29.99. Product description This product is designed to make "delicious homemade ice cream" in any flavour. And if your kids aren't the best at waiting, don't worry because this process is speedier than you might think. According to the product description, this gadget "makes small servings of ice cream in just 25 minutes". With a 475 mililitre capacity, this buy is "ideal for solo servings and couples". And since it also boasts "compact and easy" storage, you won't have to worry about packing it away during the winter months. The ice cream maker even comes with a built-in ingredient funnel, making the process even more fun. This Lakeland product comes with a three-year guarantee. Iconic 80s retro sweet RETURNS to UK supermarket shelves after a decade Argos version And the buy is significantly cheaper than a similar item from the same manufacturer, currently available from Argos. Shoppers can pick up the Cuisinart 2L Deluxe Ice Cream Maker for £80 from the retailer. This gadget also makes ice cream in just 25 minutes, with a 3.5 pint capacity. The quick-freeze bowl is included with this product and should be placed in the freezer overnight. A five year guarantee is included upon purchase. How to compare prices to get the best deal JUST because something is on offer, or is part of a sale, it doesn't mean it's always a good deal. There are plenty of comparison websites out there that'll check prices for you - so don't be left paying more than you have to. Most of them work by comparing the prices across hundreds of retailers. Here are some that we recommend: Google Shopping is a tool that lets users search for and compare prices for products across the web. Simply type in keywords, or a product number, to bring up search results. Price Spy logs the history of how much something costs from over 3,000 different retailers, including Argos, Amazon, eBay and the supermarkets. Once you select an individual product you can quickly compare which stores have the best price and which have it in stock. Idealo is another website that lets you compare prices between retailers. All shoppers need to do is search for the item they need and the website will rank them from the cheapest to the most expensive one. CamelCamelCamel only works on goods being sold on Amazon. To use it, type in the URL of the product you want to check the price of. More summer buys And Aldi has another budget-friendly gadget that is sure to keep your children cool in the summer heat. Plus, Primark fans have heaped on the praise for an affordable summer item. Shoppers are also running to pick up another summer time essential right now. And 10 more items that can help to keep you and your home cool this summer. Plus, a budget buy people have described as "unhinged" but effective for cooling your room at night.
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool transfer shows how much has changed since Jurgen Klopp rant
Jurgen Klopp previously claimed that Liverpool could not compete with the likes of Manchester City and PSG in the transfer market, but the Reds have spent big this summer Liverpool are closing in on the signing of Hugo Ekitike, with the striker set to earn Eintracht Frankfurt a huge fee that could exceed the €95million (£82.3m) they received when Randal Kolo Muani joined Paris Saint-Germain if all the add-ons are met. The Ekitike deal will take Liverpool's spending spree this summer to around £300m, which would make it the second-highest in a single transfer window in English football history behind Chelsea's in the summer of 2023. The Reds have already signed Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a British-record fee, while Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi and Freddie Woodman have also made the move to Anfield this summer. Liverpool's spending comes just three years after former manager Jurgen Klopp claimed "no one can compete" in the transfer market with clubs like Manchester City, PSG and Newcastle, who are all state-owned. "Nobody can compete with City," he said in October 2022. "You have the best team in the world and you put in the best striker on the market, no matter what it costs, you just do it. I know City will not like it, nobody will like it. "You've asked the question but you know the answer. What does Liverpool do? We cannot act like them. It is not possible. Not possible. It is just clear and again you know the answer. There are three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially. "It's legal and everything, fine, but they can do what they want. They will say 'yeah but we have...' but it's exactly the fact. I heard now that at Newcastle somebody said 'there is no ceiling for this club'. "Yes! He is right. He is absolutely right. There is no ceiling for Newcastle. Congratulations, but other clubs have ceilings." When Klopp left Liverpool in 2024, the Reds had the lowest net spend among the 'Big Six' clubs and they made just one signing in Arne Slot's first season in charge with Federico Chiesa joining from Juventus for around £12.5m. However, things have clearly changed this summer as Liverpool look to build on last season's successes. They are also England's most profitable club and have raised funds in recent seasons with the sales of Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg.
Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Telegraph
British Gas boss warns Miliband against ‘outrageous' energy bill divide
Forcing households with gas boilers to pay higher green taxes than those with heat pumps would be an 'abomination', the boss of British Gas has warned. In a stark warning to Ed Miliband, Chris O'Shea said that removing net zero levies from electricity bills would punish the poor and amount to a 'terrible distortion of the market'. It comes amid reports that the Energy Secretary is considering stripping green levies from electricity in a bid to encourage the adoption of heat pumps. Instead, the costs would be moved on to gas, making a boiler more expensive to run. Mr O'Shea, the chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, warned Mr Miliband to resist such an 'outrageous' overhaul and instead focus on protecting billpayers from the soaring cost of net zero. 'It's a preposterous idea,' Mr O'Shea told The Telegraph. 'The idea you'd put the levies on gas bills will mean those better-off people with heat pumps will be subsidised by those poorer people with gas boilers. That's nonsense. 'I think those of us with the broadest shoulders should help those of us who have the most need. 'To put them on gas bills would be an abomination, outrageous and a terrible distortion of the market. It would also be unfair because the people [who have] gas boilers the longest will also be those who can least afford to pay higher bills. 'I have heard the argument that it will encourage more people to use electricity. But encouraging people to use subsidised electricity by forcing gas users to pay just doesn't make any sense.' Mr O'Shea said the Government should shift the cost of green levies on to general taxation rather than creating an energy bill divide between households. 'Hostage to fortune' The Climate Change Committee, a Government quango, has urged Mr Miliband to remove the taxes from electricity bills to encourage more people to buy heat pumps and electric cars. However, experts have warned such a move risks increasing the average gas bill by £120 a year. Mr Miliband is considering the reforms as part of a radical rethink on clean power, as he fights to defend Britain's goal of reaching net zero by 2050. An announcement is expected this autumn. Mr O'Shea's plea to protect households with gas boilers came as he warned that Mr Miliband's net zero targets would be challenging. 'I don't think they are a work of fiction, and it's good that we have stretching targets,' he said. 'But even if you were to speak to those who helped to set them, then even they would say it will be difficult. But I don't think it's impossible.' The Centrica boss also cast doubt over Mr Miliband's pledge to cut household energy bills by 2030, supposedly aided by Britain's move to a greener economy. Mr O'Shea said he was sceptical that the Energy Secretary's promise to lower bills by £300 this parliament was 'achievable'. 'The energy transition is not cheap and it is not simple,' said Mr O'Shea. 'If it were, then we would have done it already. He urged the Government to take a more honest approach when it came to net zero. 'What renewables will do is give you more price stability,' he said. 'You will get fewer highs and fewer lows. Home-grown renewables give you more security than imported gas. 'But I wouldn't have made the £300 statement because it makes you a hostage to fortune.' As Britain's second-largest energy supplier behind rival Octopus, Centrica takes an 'agnostic' view when it comes to net zero, according to Mr O'Shea. That means the company is as comfortable building gas-fired power stations as it is investing in heat pumps. However, he said the business has abandoned wind and solar investments in the UK because they do not make enough money. Instead, Centrica is exploring wind investments in Ireland. Mr O'Shea was also critical of Mr Miliband's pledge to ban all new drilling in the North Sea, even though Centrica no longer conducts any exploration activity in the basin. 'I don't agree with the decision,' he said. 'If you take it from an environmental point of view, we import LNG [liquefied natural gas]. 'If you produce gas domestically, then it will have a lower carbon content than the LNG that we import. And the reason is the cost of shipping and the cost of turning the gas into a liquid.' Zonal pricing row By taking a less fiercely aggressive approach on net zero, Mr O'Shea has set himself apart from Greg Jackson, his counterpart at Octopus, who has made a virtue of being a clean-energy champion. This distinction came to the fore in recent months amid the fierce debate over zonal pricing. Unlike British Gas, Mr Jackson was a vocal supporter of plans to divide up the country into different energy pricing zones in an effort to incentivise developers to build wind and solar farms where demand – and prices – are highest. However, the proposals were highly controversial because they would have in practice meant higher bills in the South for electricity than in the North. 'It has been a very divisive debate,' said Mr O'Shea. 'We did not want a postcode lottery.' Mr Miliband recently abandoned the proposal, which British Gas believes was the right decision. Octopus disagrees and claims the Energy Secretary missed a vital opportunity to lower bills by billions of pounds. Mr O'Shea said: 'There was one very, very vocal proponent of it, and I think the benefits were all quite theoretical. 'For a company that purports to put the customer first, I don't know why they would want a system that would be more complex. I think they missed the point. 'I don't know why they went so hard on it and why they were so vicious about the Government's decision. One of their guys made a post on social media saying 'good game, well played'. This is not a game. People are struggling to pay their energy bills. 'I think that a lot of things have become too polarised. And energy is no different.' Rough decisions Now that the battle over zonal pricing is over, Centrica is turning its attention to Rough, the gas storage facility it runs 18 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire. It accounts for about half of the capacity the UK has to store gas. However, Mr O'Shea has warned that Rough risks closure by the end of the year unless ministers agree to help fund the site's redevelopment. 'Rough is going to lose about £100m this year and we can't sustain that,' he said. 'I think we have probably got to see something by the end of this year. 'If we get towards the end of the year and we've got a situation whereby we've got no prospect of making a profit, then we're just throwing good money after bad. It would be like a charitable donation, and that's not our business.' Rather than securing a handout, Centrica has asked ministers for a so-called cap and floor mechanism to help transform the 40-year-old site to store hydrogen as well as natural gas. This would provide a guaranteed minimum revenue level for the project - the floor – as well as limited excessive profits – the cap. Centrica has already stopped filling the facility amid mounting losses. Mr O'Shea said a full closure would involve the loss of hundreds of jobs. As well as impacting the local community, such a move threatens to deal a hammer blow to Britain's energy security, just years after the country recovered from one of its worst-ever energy crises following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Worse still, it also sends the wrong message to our allies in Europe, according to Mr O'Shea. 'If Rough closes, then the UK has just six days of gas storage available, compared to 100 in France, Netherlands and Germany. 'If we get into a crisis and the UK hasn't invested in gas storage, then I am not sure it will flow from the Continent. 'Politically, if you're the prime minister of France or Germany and you look at a country that hasn't invested in gas storage, then I am not sure that will work. There is a need for us to recognise the risk that no one likes a freeloader.'
