Thousands of pounds have been raised in support of Glasgow bar workers who claim they were sacked for unionising.
Campaigners allege three Saramago Bar staff were dismissed in the middle of their shifts after 'organising' to increase the number of staff.
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) launched a hardship fund to support those affected and cover their loss in wages. Over £3,000 has so far been donated.
Read more: Celtic fan stabbed to death on Lanarkshire doorstep by convicted rapist
The Saramago Bar, located inside the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), has previously implemented a wage increase and taxi cover following union organising. Staff had recently been organising to increase the number of staff rota’d on in the kitchen and front of house to stop themselves being overworked.
Three of those involved have allegedly been let go with the IWWW now calling on the owners to reinstate the members they say were fired and cover their lost wages.
They have asked CCA to 'reconsider' its relationship with the cafe and "refuse to tolerate a union-busting business". The union is also asking customers to reconsider hosting events in the venues.
However, Saramago insists claims staff were fired for unionising are untrue, claiming "the IWW is not an organisation that the majority of staff are affiliated with, and is not a recognised union in the UK or affiliated with the TUC".
Two demonstrations were held on Tuesday to demand that the workers be reinstated with another planned for Wednesday.
A number of organisations associated with CCA have pulled their support for Saramago including Aye-Aye books.
Glasgow Short Film Festival took to social media to announce that it would be withdrawing its custom from the bar until the situation was resolved.
They said: "These unfair dismissals and poor treatment of workers are not acceptable and we will withdraw our custom from Saramago until the situation is resolved.
"As we will host several of our festival events in CCA's over the next week, we ask our audiences to respect this position and also withdraw any custom from Saramago."
A spokesperson for Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) said: "CCA is aware of a demonstration scheduled for later today outside of our venue, relating to a staff dispute within Saramago Cafe Bar. Saramago is a business tenant within CCA, owned and managed separately from our organisation.
"Fair working is an organisational priority for CCA, and we therefore express concern and are communicating directly with Saramago Cafe Bar, our programme partners and our own staff as developments unfold."
The spokesperson for Saramago Bar explained: "The current situation at Saramago - which management has been attempting to address for many months - has been significantly misrepresented in recent coverage with many of the claims being made clearly libellous.
"No Saramago employee has been dismissed for being a member of a union, or for taking part in a union-endorsed action. This is categorically untrue and we need to make that fact completely clear.
"It is most important to point out that the grievances and tactics of the protesting group are not shared or supported by the majority of the Saramago staff. On Friday, March 3, a group of Saramago employees took part in an unannounced work stoppage at 6.30pm for 40 minutes
"All service was stopped and no payments were allowed in either Saramago's bar or restaurant space. In addition, a petition was handed around customer's tables. Other staff members who did not take part, and who had no idea that the action was about to take place were left shocked, upset and anxious.
"The action occurred specifically because the owners and management had not responded to a letter from the group of employees within their proscribed 48 hour deadline. At no point did this group of employees let the owners or managers know that there would be a consequence to them not responding within their deadline, and at no point did these employees declare any union membership or any potential for union action.
"We feel that is in entirely unreasonable to expect a meaningful investigation of work issues to be completed within 48 hours. We also feel that it is entirely unreasonable for this group of employees to have taken an action that intentionally and wilfully damaged the commercial trading and reputation of Saramago just because they hadn't received a response to their letter within 48 hours.
"The disciplinary action that has taken place relates specifically and exclusively to staff's conduct during these actions. It is necessary to point out that the first time that the IWW was mentioned in any form within the context of the grievances was on Sunday, 19 March, a full 16 days after the work stoppage, and two days after disciplinary action had commenced.
"The IWW is not an organisation that the majority of our staff are affiliated with, and is not a recognised union in the UK or affiliated with the TUC. No TUC affiliated union would endorse the action that took place as it breaks union strike guidelines.
"We have worked hard to enter into dialogue with staff over their concerns over the past months. We have respectfully requested at various points that our staff engage with concerns through our company Grievance Policy. We emphasised that this was necessary not just for good practice, but also to protect the mental health of the owners and managers at Saramago, who have been overwhelmed with anxiety as a result of the manner in which this group of employees have chosen to raise their concerns.
"Their tactics are often to come in on a quiet day, surround an owner or manager who is sitting down, and proceed to hand over a letter and instruct the recipient to get back to them in writing within a proscribed time frame and meet their demands. They will not engage in any meaningful face-to-face dialogue during such exchanges, other than giving direction on when they expect a written reply. They then leave, with the recipient of the letter feeling intimidated and anxious.
"The disruption to the activity of the business by the work stoppage on a busy weekend of trade unfortunately created a situation for both our staff, and our customers which could not be ignored. Consequently, for the first time in the history of the business, we were forced to serious disciplinary action. This was not, as has been falsely reported, an attempt to union bust, or stifle legitimate concerns about working practices, but for breach of contract by stopping work, damaging the commercial trading of the business, and bringing the business into disrepute.
"We take the well-being of our staff and the service of our customers very seriously, and it is with those responsibilities in mind that we must act to safeguard the employment and the well-being of the majority of our current staff - whose mental health has been considerably impacted by the atmosphere that has been created by these protests and tactics. As our own internal processes are still on-going, there are certain details relating to the current situation that would not be appropriate to divulge for reasons of confidentiality.
"However, we cannot accept any attempts to damage the viability of the Saramago business, or prejudice the relationship with our host organisation the CCA, and must work to ensure the rights of our staff to earn a decent living and work in a supportive and safe environment. Saramago has endured two fire closures, Covid and the economic plight of Sauchiehall Street. Throughout all of this we have stood by and supported our staff, as they are part of our community. We made no redundancies through out any of this period.
"Our staff have the right to paid breaks, a free meal on shift, discounted staff drink prices, discounted menu prices, and a free taxi home on night shift. From Monday, March 27 our lowest paid employees will be paid £10.90 + 100% of tips. Saramago's present financial situation is increasingly perilous and we have made a net loss since reopening from Covid. Like much of the Hospitality Trade our chances of making it through the foreseeable future look increasingly challenging."
READ NEXT -
Celtic fan stabbed to death on Lanarkshire doorstep by convicted rapist
White car 'ploughs into' Glasgow motors parked at Arnold Clark garage causing smash
Loyalist Govan riot thug handed himself into police after 'shameful' scenes on city streets
Glasgow Kibble Palace entry charge plans still up in the air with no introduction date set
Glasgow Mitchell Library set for repair works over subsidence
