Boycott Picturehouse?

[uptheworkers!]

jmpl Wrote:

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> Not sure that you realise quite how good you

> actually have it. You're in danger of biting the

> hand that feeds you really quite well.

You really have no idea what you are talking about, have you?

[JohnL]

The prevailing wind seems to be London Living wage in the whole of London.

I may be wrong but I think that's where we're headed and it's a good thing.

[tarafitness]

My 20 year old son walked past your lot on Saturday. He works at McDonald's in Brighton. His starting salary was ?5.45ph, and he works his arse off on a zero hours contract. He had to giggle, and point out that you really don't know how lucky you have it.

[rendelharris]

tarafitness Wrote:

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> My 20 year old son walked past your lot on

> Saturday. He works at McDonald's in Brighton.

> His starting salary was ?5.45ph, and he works his

> arse off on a zero hours contract. He had to

> giggle, and point out that you really don't know

> how lucky you have it.

Some posters on here need to take a look at the phrase "two wrongs don't make a right."

[tarafitness]

I'm just sharing the view of another who works a lot harder, for a lot less. I'm not saying that either is right or just. I'd dearly love for my son to work somewhere else, but he likes the camaraderie and family feel to the place.

[JohnL]

tarafitness Wrote:

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> My 20 year old son walked past your lot on

> Saturday. He works at McDonald's in Brighton.

> His starting salary was ?5.45ph, and he works his

> arse off on a zero hours contract. He had to

> giggle, and point out that you really don't know

> how lucky you have it.

And I look back on my 20s and think the same :)

I still believe London can be better than the rest of

Brexit Britain and it's race to the bottom and maybe set

an example

.

[JoeLeg]

tarafitness Wrote:

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> I'm just sharing the view of another who works a

> lot harder, for a lot less. I'm not saying that

> either is right or just. I'd dearly love for my

> son to work somewhere else, but he likes the

> camaraderie and family feel to the place.

If your son enjoys working for McDonalds then great, but he shouldn't be surprised at the minimum wage they pay - it's McDonalds. Personally I applaud his work ethic and think he should find somewhere else to ply it; chances are he'll be better paid.

But LLW is something that should happen. It will only happen if the paying public gets behind the idea that stuff will cost more if it comes in, but the conversation has to start somewhere. Why shouldn't it be PH staff? Yes, it's a pretty 'middle class hipster' place, but if it was Odeon staff of McDonalds staff would there be the same reaction? I doubt it.

I don't buy this idea that you can only complain about LLW if your job reaches some arbitrary standard of appallingness. London is pricey, wages are stagnant, how are we supposed to attract people to this city to work if they all know it's unaffordable? In a post Brexit-Britain where immigrants are less likely to do low-skilled jobs (apparently), this debate becomes even more urgent?

So why shouldn't PH staff be the ones to start it?

[tarafitness]

Very good points, JoeLeg.

[JohnL]

Article in the Standard

http://www.standard.co.uk/business/gideon-spanier-investors-hold-the-key-as-picturehouse-wage-strikes-intensify-a3517046.html

Looks like AGM is May 18th if the staff are keeping the pressure up.

[uptheworkers!]

JohnL Wrote:

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> Article in the Standard

>

> http://www.standard.co.uk/business/gideon-spanier-

> investors-hold-the-key-as-picturehouse-wage-strike

> s-intensify-a3517046.html

>

> Looks like AGM is May 18th if the staff are

> keeping the pressure up.

Would be good if the workers picketed the AGM

[Otta]

rendelharris Wrote:

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> Otta Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I kind of agree with the post above. This is a

> > pretty new cinema, presumably you applied for

> the

> > jobs knowing full well what the pay was?

>

> Ever taken a job knowing the pay wasn't what it

> should be but you needed a job and it was the

> least poorly paid one going? I certainly have.

So you went in to it knowing your terms and conditions then?

Don't get me wrong here, I am not against the staff, good luck to them. I am just not so passionately with them as I might be in other circumstances.

[Otta]

I should add though that I made that comment based only on the rate of pay. The no sick pay and stuff like that is disgusting.

[rendelharris]

Otta Wrote:

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> rendelharris Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Otta Wrote:

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> > -----

> > > I kind of agree with the post above. This is

> a

> > > pretty new cinema, presumably you applied for

> > the

> > > jobs knowing full well what the pay was?

> >

> > Ever taken a job knowing the pay wasn't what it

> > should be but you needed a job and it was the

> > least poorly paid one going? I certainly have.

>

>

> So you went in to it knowing your terms and

> conditions then?

>

> Don't get me wrong here, I am not against the

> staff, good luck to them. I am just not so

> passionately with them as I might be in other

> circumstances.

I know what you mean, it's not a sweatshop in Bangladesh...but in my youth I worked on building sites for really poor wages simply because it was literally the only job going and it was that or go on the dole. Sometimes you just have to take work below a rate that's fair to pay the rent, can't see anything wrong with trying to improve conditions once you're in. I guess the thing is that it shouldn't even be an issue, the LLW should be paid by all London employers (and it clearly can be done in this industry, as Curzon have proved) then the discussion wouldn't have to be had.

[LouiseC]

The problem also lies with the massive rent and rate hikes that are hitting London and in the case of Retail the drop in ?? has also meant the cost of buying product to sell has also hit the bottom line massively. The company I work for pays as much as we can afford above the minimum wage but to hit the London living wage it would mean store closures as we'd be losing money and therefore loss of jobs. It's not a small operation so if even we can't afford to do it then I know we aren't alone. However to Ottas point, we do have good benefits and sick pay as well as not having 0 hour contracts but all of those things also eat into our ability to pay the LLW....

[DaveR]

"The no sick pay and stuff like that is disgusting."

My understanding is that the disputearound sick pay is about company sick pay i.e. what is paid over and above the statutory. At the moment you only get it once you've worked for a year - the staff are asking for it (I guess) from the beginning of employment.

It's not that unusual for employers to defer entitlement to full benefits until someone has been there for a while - end of probationary period is common, but longer periods not so rare. Most employers want to get an opportunity to find out whether you're going to be a liability or not and it's easier to get shot of someone during the first year than later. It's unfortunate but true that a minority of people do take the piss and i can understand why any employer might want to delay paying additional sick pay, for example, until someone has a decent record of showing up.

[Otta]

Agree with that.

Sorry I've not read the whole thread, so what exactly are the current terms?

[rendelharris]

DaveR Wrote:

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> My understanding is that the dispute around sick

> pay is about company sick pay i.e. what is paid

> over and above the statutory. At the moment you

> only get it once you've worked for a year - the

> staff are asking for it (I guess) from the

> beginning of employment.

If you're on a zero hours contract you won't get sick pay, statutory or otherwise.

[daveybigpotatoes]

Does anyone know who actually pays the LLW on Lordship?

It seems odd to me to boycott PH but not other places with similar skill requirements.

Perhaps it may be fairer to support those places paying the LLW, rather than picking out one place that doesn't.

[Loz]

dbboy Wrote:

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> London: Work time pay rate ?9.65 (based on ?9.05

> an hour for an 8 hour shift which includes a 30

> minute paid break) plus ?1 commission for every

> Membership sold or renewed and ?2 for every Member

> Plus Membership.

If this is true, I can't see why DPH doesn't rejig its pay to be ?9.65 an hour and not pay the break. Add on 10p an hour (a 1% pay rise) and they will be paying LLW and knock the headline complaint on the head.

[edphstaff]

they wont do this because they know a) the LLW is expected to rise over time (in line with the cost of living) and b) the cause is about a lot more than the LLW. it's about maternity, paternity, sick pay and proper union recognition.

[JohnL]

edphstaff Wrote:

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> they wont do this because they know a) the LLW is

> expected to rise over time (in line with the cost

> of living) and b) the cause is about a lot more

> than the LLW. it's about maternity, paternity,

> sick pay and proper union recognition.

Not now - but I see it becoming not acceptable (in London)

not to eventually - not a case of boycotts - more shaming

as more employers sign up.

Union Recognition: I work in IT and haven't had this in

years and years even though I get good pay.

Edit: But then it's a different type of recruitment I

suppose - where I say the minimum I'll accept is X right

at the start - and there is no standard pay (you don't ask).

[edphstaff]

Our next strike is on MAY DAY, Monday 1st May!

The strike lasts all day and we ask everyone not to go to our cinema that day. While we will be off in central london protesting and picketing, supportive members of the community have stepped up to protest our site on our behalf! Join the facebook group bellow if you want to get involved and help us out!

Along with strikers from Hackney, Crouch End, the Ritzy and Central Picturehouses we'll be heading to the May Day rally in Trafalgar Square, and speaking alongside John McDonnell MP! If you're in the area, come down and have a chat and pop a donation in one of our buckets!

Towards the end of the rally, at 4pm, we'll be marching to Picturehouse Central to protest in support of A Living Wage for Picturehouse Central Staff who will be picketing. Let's celebrate May Day in style!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/slondonsupportsPHstrikers/

[apbremer]

Pathetic. Are we supposed to go into every business in lordship Lane and ask them what they are paying their staff?? Get a Life. None of our business.

[edphstaff]

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

[JoeLeg]

apbremer Wrote:

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> Pathetic. Are we supposed to go into every

> business in lordship Lane and ask them what they

> are paying their staff?? Get a Life. None of our

> business.

Don't even know where to begin with how ignorant and misinformed this statement is. Talk about completely miss the point.