HotelWorkers.org.uk

This 27th October Matthew Walker, vice president of American hotel workers union UNITE-HERE and Kurt Petersen, New York Hotels Organising Director, met for two hours with 40 London Hotel Workers from the Hyatt and Hilton group.

The discussion centred on the Hyatt Group and its new Andaz chain.

The Hyatt operated Churchill Hotel has for the past 10 days been refusing to hear a collective grievance about proposed new terms and conditions that the Churchiil wants to introduce.

Branch Secretary Hugh O'Shea says..."the hotel want to have 30 meetings instead of one...we thought that British companies were always complaining about red tape...."

The hotel commented that they believe our members were "harassing employees" but no information was given.

Three union members were interviewed by hr and asked in meetings lasting 15-20 minutes "why are you in the union?"

At the 3rd Annual Assembly of West London Citizens, held at the Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale on 8th October, 2008, plans for the Hotels Sector over the next year were approved.

The Unite Central London Hotelworkers branch committed to another year of membership of West London Citizens. Branch Secretary Hugh O'Shea and twenty members were on stage to hear the speech from Hotels Action team member Theodor Lawrence.

Theodor is a lay member of All Saints Church, Notting Hill and this is his speech................

Here's a story to gladden the hearts of all hotel workers from the International Union of Food and Hotel workers (IUF) to which UNITE is affiliated.

After a final meeting on 17th September,2008 to try and resolve the 9 month dispute between the Radisson-Edwardian Hotels group and ex ICH [InterContinentalHotel] employees at the Mayfair Hotel, London, now employed by Radisson-Edwardian Hotels, a final offer has been put to Unite the Union representatives.

The main points are as follows........
1...If ex-ICH employees wish to carry on working under their old ICH
contracts this will be acceptable to the hotel.

2...However all ex-ICH employees will be offered an increase in salary to

The Mayfair Hotel today announced that it would be paying, in the first pay run in October, a 3% wage rise backdated to 1st April,2008.

The wage rise was in reply to a collective grievance raised by nineteen ex-employees of the InterContinentalHotel group transferred to Radisson Edwardian Hotels nearly five years ago.

Over thirty workers, mainly in housekeeping, wiil benefit.

The BBC tell us that they will be looking at the Dorchester Hotel's service charge arrangements on their 6.30 local news programme, just after the National News at SIX on Tuesday, 9th September.

The five minute slot will feature Derek Simpson, joint General Secretary of Unite and will give details of how the Dorchester distributes its service charge in the banqueting department.

The piece will feature an ex-employee of the hotel who reveals what happens with the money that clients leave as service charge.
His story should be seen.

The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), collectively known as London 2012, have agreed a set of principles with the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Last September the Branch arranged free English classes for hotel workers employed at the Hilton Metropole and Paddington.
This was achieved through our affiliation to London Citizens and with the involvement of Lewisham College Trade Union Studies Dept and the College's brilliant ESOL Dept and the TUC Vulnerable Workers Project.
Workers had told us that they needed lessons to be provided at the end of their shift and close to the hotels.

This Sunday morning, 10th August, after their long running problems with Central Hotel Facilities (CHF) about National Minimum Wage (NMW) violations had been ignored, ten union members working at the Kensington Close Hotel (KCH) walked off the job and demanded to be paid the NMW.

The ten Polish Workers met with Unite union branch secretary Hugh O'Shea on Monday and explained their problems to him.