Staff strike will hit troubled Glasgow bar over busiest part of the week

Amanda Keenan
Mon, 3 July 2023 

STAFF at a troubled Glasgow bar have revealed the dates when they will strike - the first industrial action of its type anywhere in the UK for over 20 years.

Workers at the 13th Note in Merchant City will walk out on Friday July 14 - and will then continue to withdraw their labour every weekend until August 6.

Unite Hospitality, which represents 95 per cent of the workers employed at the venue, exclusively shared details of the plan with the Glasgow Times this morning.

It says the strike will go ahead unless drastic improvements are made by the owners of the King Street bar.

Glasgow Times: Staff at 13th Note (Image: Newsquest)

The escalating dispute, which has been rumbling on since March when workers lodged an official grievance, centres on the trade union’s campaign to secure better wages, improvements to health and safety and trade union recognition for those employed by the iconic music venue.

Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s members at the 13th Note bar in Glasgow are united in taking a stand in what could be the first bar workers’ strike across the UK in over 20 years. That says a lot about them, their strength of feeling and the stage this dispute has now reached.

Unite says it represents 95 per cent of the workers at the bar.

Bryan Simpson, lead organiser for Unite Hospitality, said that a breakdown is negotiations had brought the workforce to break point.

He added: “Unless the owners of 13th Note get back around the negotiating table to propose improvements to wages, health and safety as well as union recognition, the rift between the owner and workers will only grow wider.”

Nick Troy, who works as a chef at the venue, said: "We've tried for 17 weeks to resolve this and we have been trying to reason with the management. This is not a decision we have taken lightly, or a step that we wanted to take but from wages to hygiene and understaffing, and our demands have not been properly listened to. People are worried about the ramifications of a strike because we all want the 13th Note to succeed, but we hope this will send a message to management that we have had enough.

"We want them to get back around the table for meaningful negotiations to try and reach a resolution."

The venue’s owner, Jacqueline Fennessy, denied that the strike action is backed by all of the staff who work there.

In a statement to the Glasgow Times she said: “Unite the Union do not have 100% support for strike action from 13th Note staff.

“Only 10 union members actually voted in the ballot, out of 17 union who were eligible, and I will state again, there are no health and safety issues in the venue.

“Any issues raised by Environmental Health were dealt with immediately and we were authorised to reopen within 72 hours.

“I would reiterate there are no staff at the 13th Note on zero-hour contracts and all staff are being paid above the Living Wage.”