BY HAJERA BLAGG “ Find out more HERE


People deserve to be treated with respect; they deserve a wage that they can live on; they deserve a voice in the workplace. At the moment, too many people believe they don’t deserve that


Charlotte Bence Unite hotels co-ordinator


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agreement it had made with the Unite- affiliated global union IUF.


Now the hotel group is working constructively with the union – it’s supporting English as a second language classes (ESOL) facilitated by Unite. It’s also investing in its housekeepers – the company is giving staff the opportunity to complete NVQs so that they can advance in their careers or change roles altogether.


Charlotte says that we need only look to New York City to understand how high we can set our sights for jobs typically considered low-paid and insecure.


In 2012, an American hotel union


secured an unprecedented city-wide deal for hotel workers, which sees, for example, housekeepers earn about $30 (£23) an hour, provides them with free health care and secures them a generous pension as well.


“We have to get better about talking about what good work actually is,” Charlotte says. “Far too many people look at retail, look at hospitality, or service sector jobs and regard them as quote- unquote ‘crap jobs’. We say there is no such thing as a crap job. All there is is crap pay, terms and conditions.


She believes that fighting low-paid, insecure jobs now dominating the UK


27 uniteWORKS Autumn 2017


economy – one recent report found the problem is ‘endemic’, with only one in six people ever escaping the low pay trap – requires a total change in thinking.


“It’s not just about raising terms and conditions, it’s about raising people’s thinking over what they’ve got a right to expect. It isn’t just a question of if you join the union we’ll have a conversation with your boss about a pay rise – you have a right to expect better.


“People deserve to be treated with respect; they deserve a wage that they can live on; they deserve a voice in the workplace. At the moment, too many people believe they don’t deserve that.”


*Names changed to protect members


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