Glasgow hotel dispute could lead to first strike in 40 years

Glasgow Times

14-07-2025

A ballot is open at the Village Hotel on the Clydeside in a dispute over pay and conditions.
In its most recent accounts VUR Village Hotels Ltd posted a profit after tax of £182million.
It is currently in the midst of an £82m refurbishment and is planning further expansion, and announced in May it had expanded its senior management team.
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At the same time the company refused to meet with union Unite over demands to pay the real living wage, with a ballot for strike action closing on July 15.
Should the ballot succeed, it will be the first strike in a major hotel in more than four decades.
Daniel Friel, the Unite representative for the Glasgow hotel said: "Last year we had a pay disparity within the Glasgow branch which disproportionately affected women.
'They increased the rate to hire more staff because they were struggling with recruitment but they didn't change the rate for existing staff, so that meant the existing staff remained on the lower rate and it ended up being the case it was mostly guys on the higher rate and girls on the lower.
'That went on for a long time and it was raised internally with management.
'When I was made aware of it we filed a collective grievance with Unite, so by the time the grievance came along all these employees had joined and it was so straightforward because, basically, they s**t themselves.
'We had a meeting and they basically said 'we're going to fix this completely for you'. After joining Unite the whole thing was fixed in about three weeks, whereas as non-union members it was about three months of being told no constantly.
'We got backpay and some people got over two grand back at 18-years-old. I don't know the exact figures for the hotel but I think it was £15,000 that we got for under-21s across all departments.
"After that we got some smaller wins too, we now have a staff taxi policy where they contribute 50% to staff taxis after a certain time, whereas before they would only give you a flat rate of £3."
Village Hotel, Glasgow (Image: Supplied) The current dispute centres around pay, paid breaks and working conditions.
Workers at Village Glasgow are demanding equal pay at the real living wage of £12.60 per hour, paid breaks, and addressing a disparity between what under-21 workers are paid in Edinburgh compared to Glasgow.
When the issues were raised with the company it said it had 'no plans' to pay the real living wage or introduce paid breaks, which it said was in line with practices across the hospitality sector.
In addition, the company said it had already carried out an internal grievance investigation into the pay disparity with Edinburgh which concluded that the higher rate of pay in the capital was due to the higher cost of living.
An email sent to staff pointed to existing employee benefits such as gym and spa memberships, discounted hotel rooms and high street shopping discounts and said raising wages and paying for breaks was not "financially achievable" without it "adversely impacting on our ability to provide these other benefits".
A grievance was also raised over a small number of staff receiving a lower rate of pay in Glasgow compared to colleagues in Edinburgh.
The company said this was due to the higher rate of pay in the capital.
Mr Friel said: "There was a team of us who all happened to be members who were in Edinburgh doing a shift in the hotel there, because at Christmas the Glasgow and the Edinburgh hotels switch over to cover each others' Christmas party.
'We were in the hotel working with two Edinburgh staff who were just doing the last hour of their shift before they headed off to the party and it turned out they were being paid more than Glasgow.
'Over-21s across Glasgow and Edinburgh were all paid equally at the minimum wage but under-21s in Edinburgh were paid the same as over-21s whereas in Glasgow they were on the lower wage of £10.42.
'We had two grievance procedures about this and in each the company said the justification was the cost of living, which doesn't make any sense because over-21s across both sides are paid the same. So how can you say it's because of the cost of living?
"They refused to budge on it, and that's when talk of striking happened.
'We've got about 90% on board with this and we're now at the stage where we're in the ballot process.
'We're being paid poverty wages, with under-21s being paid even less, and we don't get paid breaks.
'They sent out a mass response to the whole Glasgow hotel saying it was not financially achievable to pay us the real living wage when last month they announced the £82m refurbishment.
"There are 34 hotels at the moment and they want to open 25 new ones, so they're close to doubling the amount of hotels we have over the next five years while telling Glasgow employees they don't have enough money to pay us the real living wage.
"Village had a national hospitality day celebration not too long ago and they said in their communications to staff that they want hospitality to be seen as a career – they don't want it to just be a stepping stone.
'At the same time they're paying the absolute bare minimum they're legally allowed to get away with. How can you have a career that you enjoy and can live off if you're not even being paid the real living wage? It's so disingenuous.
'People are really p**sed off about it, and that's why we are where we are.'
Village Hotels have refused to meet with Unite to discuss the issue, saying they see "no benefit" in talks.
According to Mr Friel though, that attitude has had a galvanising effect.
He said: "That was to be expected, but it's still insulting and disparaging to say 'we see no benefit in talking to you about raising your wage'.
'From the moment we told them we intended to ballot they've been disparaging and insulting, they're p**sing off staff with what they're saying.
'We've had quite a few extra people join who will be participating in a possible strike as a result of how they've been communicated with.
'They've shot themselves in the foot with how they've chosen to go about it.
"I've always been a trade unionist, but for everyone else in that hotel the early win we had last year was their introduction to trade unionism, it was so positive and empowering for them.
'Staff are being educated on trade unionism, how it works and how it can be successful for them at a young age where they wouldn't necessarily be exposed to it."
A Village Hotel Club spokesperson said: 'We continually review our remuneration policies in line with industry best practices and invest significantly in employee benefits, incentives and welfare to make Village a rewarding place to work. Our pay scales reflect local market dynamics and are aligned with the different roles and skills required at each hotel.'