TGI Friday strike again over tip and minimum wage policies
29 August 2018
Over the bank holiday weekend workers at TGI Fridays restaurants in Milton Keynes, Covent Garden and Stratford City protested further over tip and minimum wage abuses.
Unite the Union is representing workers from TGI Fridays and is continuing to make the case for action in these branches to stop bad practice across the chain’s 81 restaurants. This is the fifth strike by workers who have staged a series of walkouts over consecutive Fridays from 18 May 2018 and on this most recent protest workers from Stratford City joined the action for the first time.
Unite is urging TGI Fridays to get around the table to find a solution to this long running dispute.
The dispute arose when the company introduced a new tipping policy in January with only two days’ notice which has seen the card tips earned by the waiting staff redirected to top up the low wages of kitchen staff, a move the company claims is driven by the need to stop the high turnover of kitchen staff.
Unite regional officer Dave Turnbull said:
“It is inexcusable that a company, which claims to have the best interests of its workers at heart, can continue to refuse to sit down with our members and their union to settle this dispute.
“…Unite will continue to make the case for action in these branches to expose bad practice across the entire business. Our message to the company is ‘pay your staff fairly and talk to the union’. Together we can find a sensible solution to this dispute.”
Read the full press release from Unite.