CINEMA workers demanding the Living Wage have overwhelmingly re-newed their mandate for strike action, their union BECTU announced yesterday.
Cinema workers at selected Picturehouse Cinemas have voted in huge numbers to continue their strike. At the Ritzy cinema in Brixton 77% of members took part in the August ballot which closed on Wednesday. Strike action was backed by an overwhelming 92%.
A single unified ballot amongst members at the five other venues saw an even bigger ‘YES’ vote for strike. With 61% of members taking part; 96% of members voted in favour of strike. The renewed mandates for strike has come almost exactly a year after the struggle broke out in September 2016 with strike action at the Ritzy cinema.
In less than 12 months, the dispute has both escalated and expanded with union members at Picturehouse locations in Brighton (Duke of Yorks), Central London, Crouch End, East Dulwich and Hackney joining with members in Brixton to press the case for improvements in terms and conditions headlined by the Living Wage.
Despite members at all venues backing close to 60 strikes over the past 11 months, management refuses to negotiate with BECTU on what is widely regarded as a just and necessary claim. The official Living Wage in London, set by the Living Wage Foundation, stands at £9.75 an hour, with the outer London rate set at £8.45 an hour.
Active support from Picturehouse cinema goers, local residents and leading figures in the creatives industries has helped to sustain members throughout the long campaign. Commenting on the ballot results, Alisdair Cairns, a representative at the Hackney Picturehouse speaking on behalf of BECTU’s Picturehouse representatives, said: ‘Our campaign has lasted over a year now. The tactics employed by Picturehouse over that period have appeared to be deliberate attempts to grind us down and demoralise us.
‘We’ve received countless threats from their lawyers, we’ve seen our friends and colleagues needlessly disciplined and in some cases sacked, and we’ve still heard nothing with regards to resuming negotiations.
‘These ballots show conclusively that the management’s strategy hasn’t worked, and that we are just as determined as ever to win the Living Wage and fair, reasonable working conditions.
‘We call again on Picturehouse management to recognise their responsibilities to staff and to agree to talks with BECTU.’
