Workers at London’s Picturehouse Cinemas have been striking throughout the year over a dispute in pay to equal the Living Wage of £10.20.
The Living Wage is the suggested amount that the average Londoner should earn in order to live comfortably within the city. However, it is not legally enforceable, whereas the Minimum Wage is.
The Living Wage Foundation is the group responsible for calculating the wage, which it announced on Monday to start Living Wage Week.
Currently, Picturehouse workers earn £9.30 an hour under their current contract, which is higher than the Minimum Wage of £7.05.
Despite this, some of the cinema staff have split off from the official Union of Picturehouse (called The Forum) and attempted to start their own in conjunction with BECTU to achieve a higher rate of pay.
The strikers have also come under threats from the Head Office of the cinema chain, as there were warnings of dismissal before a strike at the BFI London Film Festival in October.
Cineworld, the parent company of Picturehouse, have remained silent on this issue, but have been unable to stem the tide of people calling to boycott both chains. This has been supported by several big names in films such as Sir Ian McKellen and Ken Loach as well as some Labour MPs including John McDonnell.
One of the main reasons behind the refusal of the pay increase is down to Picturehouse agreeing to a pay rise in September 2016.
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HeadlinePicturehouse Cinema Workers Strike Following Living Wage Increase
Short HeadlineCinema Workers Strike Over Living Wage
Standfirst
Workers at London’s Picturehouse Cinemas have been striking throughout the year over a dispute in pay to equal the Living Wage of £10.20.
The Living Wage is the suggested amount that the average Londoner should earn in order to live comfortably within the city. However, it is not legally enforceable, whereas the Minimum Wage is.
The Living Wage Foundation is the group responsible for calculating the wage, which it announced on Monday to start Living Wage Week.
Currently, Picturehouse workers earn £9.30 an hour under their current contract, which is higher than the Minimum Wage of £7.05.
Despite this, some of the cinema staff have split off from the official Union of Picturehouse (called The Forum) and attempted to start their own in conjunction with BECTU to achieve a higher rate of pay.
The strikers have also come under threats from the Head Office of the cinema chain, as there were warnings of dismissal before a strike at the BFI London Film Festival in October.
Cineworld, the parent company of Picturehouse, have remained silent on this issue, but have been unable to stem the tide of people calling to boycott both chains. This has been supported by several big names in films such as Sir Ian McKellen and Ken Loach as well as some Labour MPs including John McDonnell.
One of the main reasons behind the refusal of the pay increase is down to Picturehouse agreeing to a pay rise in September 2016.
