Arran hotel reveals Glen Sannox ferry uplift for bookings
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The Glen Sannox finally entered service between the mainland and Arran in mid-January - years later than planned following major delays and cost overruns in its construction at the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow.
Asked this week by The Herald about Auchrannie's experience of the Glen Sannox since the ferry came into service, the resort's head of finance, Tom Jessop, said: 'Ferry reliability has improved significantly since Glen Sannox entered service, but the weather since then has also been comparatively favourable. 2025 occupancy and forward bookings at the resort are up 5% on last year.
'We believe this is due to improved ferry reliability and capacity, better weather conditions, and less negative press coverage, which translates to an increase in customer confidence. With all of that said, signs look good that the Glen Sannox can sail in more challenging conditions than older ferries, and this bodes well for the future.'
Auchrannie Resort saw its pre-tax losses widen to £474,260 in the year to March 31, 2024, from £111,447 in the prior 12 months, partly because of increased staff and interest costs. Turnover rose marginally, from £10.44 million to £10.64m
Mr Morrison in January highlighted hopes of an improvement in Auchrannie's financial performance in the year to March 2025, noting then that it was on course to be significantly better than expected, through containing costs as opposed to revenue growth.
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The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
I'm sick of this discriminatory minimum wage policy exploiting Gen Z
The Herald reported earlier this week that more than half of young people are racking up thousands of pounds in debt thanks to low youth wage rates. The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) surveyed 198 young workers between May and June this year, and only 46% said they could always afford the basics in life, like food, transport and bills. Sir Keir Starmer promised to abolish youth wage rates during last year's general election campaign, and last July his Labour government committed to removing 'discriminatory age bands for adults'. But here we are, more than a year later, and young adults are still being paid a fraction of what they should be. Those aged 18-20 earn less than 82% of the national minimum wage. Sixteen and 17-year-olds earn less than 62% of the national minimum wage. Currently, the minimum wage for workers over 21 is £12.21, it is £10 for workers aged 18-20 and £7.55 for workers aged 16 and 17. Paying young people a poverty wage was the brilliant idea of Peter 'Prince of Darkness' Mandelson under Tony Blair's Labour government. The Low Pay Commission ('Low Pay Commission' sounds to me like a body created to keep wages low, but I digress) was set up to decide what the minimum wage should be in the late 1990s because until that point, there was no National Minimum Wage. Based on no conclusive research or evidence, the government argued that lower pay for young people would protect their jobs and tackle youth unemployment. Their hypothesis was that if businesses had to pay people under the age of 25 the real minimum wage, it would deter them from hiring the youth. Really, it was just a way to keep good on the promise to deliver a minimum wage for the people without alienating businesses. A loophole that allowed employers to continue to benefit from cheap labour. A 2015 report from the London School of Economics found that increasing the minimum wage for young people in the UK actually had little to no impact on employment. The entire premise that young people deserve less money for the same jobs is inherently flawed. The last time I checked, rent, utilities, broadband, transport, council tax, food, and all the other basic necessities were more or less the same price whether you are aged 20 or 30. So what logic allows a government to condemn a large swathe of the population to poverty? It requires a politician to look at the country and only see middle-class faces looking back. That young people deserve to be paid less hinges on the fiction that they live at home or have parental support and don't really need a full wage or don't have the financial responsibilities of an adult, even though they are one. This profile certainly was not true of me at aged 20. Ironically, I was supporting myself on £60 a week, less than a 27-year-old colleague living at home with their parents. Not everyone under 21 is in education or living at home. There are plenty of parents under the age of 21 who have their own families to support. Older Millennials, or Generation Y, were the first to feel the sting of the youth minimum wage. Today, you can just add it to the list of setbacks facing Millennials and Gen Z, the most financially disadvantaged generations in recent history. Since the 2008 financial crisis, wage growth has stagnated. People who work in minimum wage jobs are typically also battling with zero-hour contracts. In 1985, the average UK house prices were about 3.7 times the average salary – these days, it is around 6.1 times the average salary, according to Nationwide Building Society figures from 2024. To add insult to injury, a pint costs around four times as much these days compared to 1990. The entire concept that young people should be paid less than older people, just because of their age, is entirely absurd. There is a counterargument that suggests if we take ageism out of the minimum wage and abolish discriminatory age bands, it will send businesses that rely on this exploitative practice into a tailspin. But just because we have done something as a country for more than 25 years, it does not make it right or efficient. A far better policy is to have a blanket minimum wage that is kept in line with inflation. Apprentice or student exemptions for those training on the job would help keep it fairer for businesses. And to help with the transition, perhaps consider lowering VAT on hospitality, an industry that employs a huge number of young people. You could reduce business rates for small independent retailers to help them fund staff wages. Or, my favourite, you could introduce a wealth tax to help tackle the country's repugnant inequality. People should be paid the same to do the same work, regardless of the year they were born. Marissa MacWhirter is a columnist and feature writer at The Herald, and the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. The newsletter is curated between 5-7am each morning, bringing the best of local news to your inbox each morning without ads, clickbait, or hyperbole. Oh, and it's free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Ferry service to return to Ardrossan - for one week only
CalMac say the vessel "remains unavailable for service", adding that "until we have a confirmed date for her return, we have put an alternative deployment plan in place". On September 15, the two vessel service will operate from Troon-Brodick with MV Glen Sannox and MV Alfred - and no service will operate from Ardrossan. That will be another heavy blow for both Ardrossan and Arran. Reduced capacity and longer travelling times from Troon have hit Arran's tourist trade. And in Ardrossan, businesses have been badly hit by loss of trade - both from tourists and regular visitors from Arran, who travel to the mainland on a regular basis to shop. The service between Ardrossan and Brodick was suspended in January after the introduction of the new ferry Glen Sannox, built too big for its main port at Ardrossan. Instead, the Sannox has been sailing from Troon, alongside the chartered vessel MV Alfred. The 41-year-old ship MV Isle of Arran made a brief return to Ardrossan last month while the MV Alfred left for a service Meanwhile, protracted negotiations between the Scottish Government and current harbour owners Peel Ports over a takeover continue. The Scottish government is looking to take the port into public ownership so that deadlocked plans to redevelop the harbour and allow larger vessels to return can proceed.
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Glasgow Times
'It's unfair': Young Glasgow workers revolt over wage discrimination
Those striking outside the Village Hotel in Glasgow over pay disparity have told our sister title The Herald they have had to sacrifice moving out of their family home and their social lives due to 'discriminatory' age band wage rates. Shona Thomson, aged 20, and Shakeira Nyumba, aged 18, work as part of the food and beverage team at the Village Hotel in Glasgow Both of the young women earn £10.42 an hour and are currently striking to demand fairer pay. The UK's Minimum Wage (the 'National Living Wage') laws still allow workers to be paid less based on their age, even if their job, skills, and experience match those of colleagues. While the minimum wage for workers over 21 is £12.21, it is £10 for workers aged 18-20 and £7.55 for workers aged 16 and 17. Speaking from the picket line, Ms Thomson said: "We found out a while ago that Edinburgh workers [at the Village] who are under 21, were getting £11.44 and, not only that, over 21s that work in the same Village branch as us were getting £12.60 to do the exact same job. 'Our main priority is just to receive equal pay across the board. I feel like I'm not being paid what I'm worth and I'm doing the exact same job as older colleagues. 'We work really hard and sometimes harder than people who are older than 21 and it seems a bit unfair for doing the exact same thing and getting paid less,' she said. READ NEXT: Man tried to kill toddler, 2, by walking in front of train in Glasgow jailed READ NEXT: Plans revealed for new 5G masts and equipment in Govan - what we know Shona currently attends a private college and finds that the majority of her earnings are spent on her education. The 20-year-old said: 'I do receive help from student funding and things like that but that's got to be paid back eventually so overall having a low wage is obviously not great for having to do that." She also explained that she had to move back home with her parents as she could no longer afford the cost of a flat with her friend. Ms Thomson said: 'I also had to pay rent for a while on my own so it ate into that. It sounds as if it's not a massive amount of money we are asking for, but, at the end of the month, it could make all the difference." The 20-year-old also said she has to factor in other monthly payments she has to make such as car and fuel money and the cost of living. 'All that becomes so much more difficult because I'm on such a low wage,' she said. 'All my money it isn't spent on luxury things. At the end of the month, all my money is already gone. "Things like going out with my friends, normal things that a twenty year old should be doing, is difficult money-wise," she added. Living with her family in Glasgow, 18-year-old Shakiera Nyumba is about to start university. However, she is unable to move out as she cannot afford student accommodation due to her low wage. "I have quite a big family so it's hard to have my own space," she told The Herald, "During exam season, it's hard to study alone so my plan was to move out when I get into Uni but I now can't do that financially because I don't get much money from the Village." 'I'm starting my driving lessons and that's another cost I need to consider. It's just a lot and I don't get much at all from my job,' said Ms Nyumba. Their strike action comes after trade union Unite members returned an overwhelming mandate for industrial action when 100 per cent voted yes to strike action on an 81 per cent turnout last month. Lindsay Southward, Group Director of Operations & People at Village Hotels said: "We are proud of our track record as an employer and offer our team a highly competitive package that includes significant benefits and incentives, contributing to our market-leading employee satisfaction and engagement scores. "This commitment to our team is also reflected in the fact that only a small percentage of employees in Glasgow have opted to strike." A new report from the Scottish Trades Union Congress found that two thirds of young people are racking up thousands of pounds in debt due to low youth wage rates. Out of the 198 young workers surveyed between May and June this year, only 46% said they could always afford the basics in life, such as food, transport and bills. In July last year, Keir Starmer's Labour government committed to removing "discriminatory age bands for adults", however, the UK Government has not yet put a date on when these age bands will be removed. Both women have zero hour contracts which they said creates more wage instability. Ms Myumba says she does not get many shifts at the Village which means her monthly salary holds her back from going out with friends. 'It's hard to have a social life,' Ms Nyumba said, "I could say I'm free the full week, they could give me nothing but then if I say I do have something planned they will put me on rota." Ms Thomson shares the same frustration, particularly when it comes to short notice on shift availability. 'It's on a weekly basis that we even get shifts," Ms Thomson explained, "I know with me being in college I can only work one day during the week so normally it's only a five hour six hour shift a week. 'It's also frustrating because when I'm able to work more, like during Summer for example, I know I went three weeks without working a single shift when I know this is the time that I need to be working and building up money when I'm not in college.' There are currently 30,000 employees aged 16-17 and 280,000 employees aged 18-24 in Scotland. The report states that these workers are disproportionately likely to be on low pay as more than a third of employees (36.2%) aged 18-24 in Scotland were paid less than the real Living Wage in 2024, compared to less than 1 in 10 in all other age groups. Those aged 18-20 currently earn less than 82% of the national minimum wage, while 16–17-year-olds currently earn less than 62% of the national minimum wage. In April this year, the minimum wage for over 21s rose by 6.7% from £11.44 to £12.21. The minimum rate for apprentices and workers under 18 also went up by 18% from £6.40 to £7.55. For 18–20-year-olds the rate went up 16.2% from £8.60 to £10. The report argues that whilst this marks progress, these rates are 'clearly still short of the rates for older workers'. Asked what they would like to see change, Ms Thomson said: "I'd just like fair treatment in the work place. The equal pay mainly affects young women in our branch as well." 25-year-old Josh Morris is a healthcare worker and a former STUC Youth Committee Chair. He told of his own difficult experience of low pay and being on zero hour contracts. Mr Morris said: "It is quite precarious. In the past, I've worked 70-80 hours per week and you didn't know what shifts you are working and the pay was low. "I've had to work between three different jobs to get my wage up to something I could live on and get by on as you don't know what the next week holds," he said, "It's really difficult to plan your life." The 25-year-old worker would like to see the Labour government stick to their promise of abolishing age band rates as well as further action on improving workers' contracts. He said: "They should go by the simple principle of same rate of pay for the same work. I'd also like to see a recommitment to the abolition of zero hour contracts. I think we have seen a softening of that. "Us in the trade union movement would say any zero hour contract is exploitative so I think we are still waiting to see what the government says on this," he said. The UK Government has said it is taking steps to address issues with zero-hour contracts, specifically focusing on ending "one-sided flexibility". They are proposing measures such as guaranteeing hours for those who work regular shifts and ensuring reasonable notice for shift changes. Minister have also said the remit for the Low Pay Commission to remove age wage bands "will drive forward the Government's commitment to delivering a single adult pay band." The commission will consult with employers, trade unions and workers to "narrow the gap" between the 18–20-year-old rate of the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage and "will put forward recommendations on achieving a single adult rate in the years ahead." Recommendations are made by the LPC each October – for minimum wage rates to apply from the following April.
