13th Note staff in Glasgow walking out on Friday stage 'first Scots bar strike in 20 years’

Staff at a bar in Glasgow will be the first in Scotland to take strike action in two decades, a union has claimed.

Workers at the 13th Note will stage a 48-hour walkout from Friday until Sunday, after what trade union Unite says is a failure of the owners to deal with concerns over pay and health and safety.

Following this, they will then take action every weekend until August 6.

Unite represents 95% of the workers employed at the venue, with 100% of members voting to support strike action.

A meeting with ACAS is scheduled for July 19 when both Unite and the owners of 13th Note will try to reach a resolution.

Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s members at the 13th Note bar in Glasgow are striking following the failure of the owners to make improvements on pay and on health and safety concerns.

“In what has become one of the first bar workers’ strikes in over 20 years, we support them and hope the owners now recognise the strength of the collective.

“These workers deserve credit for standing up for their rights in an industry that is riding roughshod over staff. Unite will back them 100% in their demands for better pay and safer working conditions.”

Nick Troy, a Unite rep at the 13th Note, said: “The owners of 13th Note should be under no illusion that improvements to wages, health and safety, as well as union recognition, are the only way this rift will be sorted.

“This action is a reflection of our determination to ensure fair treatment. The continuation of the strike action beyond this weekend is not inevitable if the concerns and demands of the workforce are resolved.

“Unite remains hopeful that talks at Acas could avert further action.”