Hospitality Workers to Strike Together on Thursday October 4th.

Photo Credit: Robert Byford

• Workers from McDonald’s, Wetherspoons and TGI Fridays will strike on the same day on Thursday 4 October before coming together for a rally in Leicester Square.
• The workers will convene for a rally and photocall in Leicester Square at 11am.
• The strikers will be joined by a delegation of hospitality workers from four continents.

In a historic move, hospitality workers in the McStrike, TGI Fridays Strike and SpoonStrike [JD Wetherspoon] are staging coordinated walkouts to highlight issues of low pay and insecure working in the UK hospitality industry. They are part of a growing movement of workers who face similar conditions of poverty pay, precarious contracts and lack of union recognition.

Workers in two Wetherspoons pubs in Brighton, McDonalds in Brixton, Crayford, Cambridge and Watford, TGI Fridays workers in Milton Keynes, Covent Garden and Stratford in London will be going on strike.

Matt Rouse (22) a kitchen worker at the Bright Helm Brighton said,  

“We’re excited and happy to be going on strike. I’ve been inspired by my co-workers as we stand together to call out injustice in our workplaces.. We are determined to stand together and make our demands for £10 an hour for all, and union recognition heard. This is only the beginning, we will keep fighting for everyone, for better wages and rights for hospitality workers across the country”

Boni Adeliyi, TGI Fridays waitress in Milton Keynes said:

“We’re striking on on October 4th to show the strength we have when workers come together. The movement is growing and change is coming! All young workers should join a union – it’s important to know your rights and how to fight for them when they’re being ignored. Together we are stronger!”

McStriker Lauren McCourt, said:

“We’re joining with Wetherspoons and TGI Friday’s workers because when we come together,  hospitality workers have the power to transform our sector. The days of poverty pay, insecure contracts and lack of respect for workers are numbered. A living wage of £10/hr for all ages, security of hours, and our right to a union are the basic rights we are fighting for. Hospitality workers are rising up and all those who suffer similar conditions should join with us. We will win”

The workers will convene for a rally and photocall in Leicester Square at 11am. They will be  joined by hospitality workers from across the UK and a delegation of workers from four continents who are coming to show their support. The UK workers are part of a global movement that is steadily growing stronger. There will be actions from fast food workers around the globe on the same day for union rights, decent wages and working conditions.

Notes to Editors:

For further information or to organise interviews with McDonald’s & Wetherspoons workers please contact Owen Espley – Mobile: +44 (0)7861 362 797  / oespley[@]waronwant.org

To organise interviews with TGI Fridays workers please contact Unite campaigns coordinator Chantal Chegrinec on 0777 414 6777

• #SpoonStrike: JD Wetherspoons workers were inspired by the McStrike and joined the BFAWU. This will be the first time Wetherspoons workers have been on strike in the company’s history.
• TGI Fridays #AllEyesOnTGIs: This is the eighth strike by workers at TGI Fridays restaurants in Covent Garden and Milton Keynes, since 18 May 2018. Workers from Stratford City are walking out for the second time.
• They have come together to say enough to low pay and tip theft, and are striking over the company’s refusal to listen to their concerns after a change in tip policy left them £250 a month worse off, and to challenge unfair practices that cheat them out of money they’re rightfully owed.
• #McStrike: 04 September 2018, McDonald’s workers organised in the BFAWU made history when members at two McDonald’s stores went on strike for £10 an hour, an end to zero hour contracts and for their right a union, winning a ten year record pay rise. 01 May 2018, (International Workers Day) workers at five McDonald’s stores went out on strike.
• The BFAWU is the largest independent trade union in the food sector in the British Isles and spearheads the The McStrike and Fast Food Rights campaign. They aim to ensure fast food workers have the right to a fair wage and decent working conditions across the country.  
• Unite represents workers in Britain and Ireland with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.

ENDS