Itison 'U-turns' decision to downgrade pay of Glasgow bar staff at Brel, Maggie May's, Sloans and Shucks

The owners of a number of popular bars in Glasgow have reversed their decision to downgrade staff pay, a trade union has said.

Unite Hospitality said itison.com venues has agreed to pay staff at all of its sites the real living wage of £10.90 following a “recent financial review”.

The union said the company had planned to cut pay to the national living wage, which is £10.18 for those under 23 and £10.42 for those over 23.

The company owns several bars in the city including Brel, Maggie May’s, Sloans, Epicures and Shucks.

Unite said the move is a “massive win” for staff, but itison accused the union of “factually incorrect posts,” stating it had “no involvement” in pay talks.

While @itisoncom (venues) have made clear that they will not seek @LivingWageUK accreditation, this is a massive win for our members after a short but sustained campaign.

We would implore this employer to commit to the RLW in order to re-establish trust with their workforce.
— Unite Hospitality (@FairHospitality) July 17, 2023

Bryan Simpson, lead organiser at Unite Hospitality, told STV News: “We’re delighted that itison has decided to do a U-turn on their previous decision and will now be paying the real living wage rate of £10.90.

“We would now urge the company to become an accredited real living wage employer with the Living Wage Foundation so that they can rebuild the trust and reputation that has been damaged by their decision in May with workers and customers alike.”

A spokesperson for itison said: “Unite Hospitality has issued a series of social media posts today regarding itison venues.

“The posts are factually incorrect and misleading. Unite Hospitality had no involvement in any change of pay at Brel or any of our other venues. We are taking legal action against Unite for prior factually incorrect social media posts which are damaging to our business and team members who work there.

“We’re delighted to be at the forefront of pay and benefits in the hospitality industry and will continue to strive for what is in the interests of our teams and business.”