Migrant hotel workers call off strike after reaching agreement
Workers at the Radisson Blu hotel in Canary Wharf have cancelled a planned six-week strike after reaching an agreement that met all their demands.
The group of housekeepers, most of whom are migrant women from Nepal and members of the United Voices of the World (UVW) union, were due to begin industrial action on Sunday (31). It would have been the longest hotel strike in the UK since 1979, a statement said.
The dispute involved staff employed through the outsourcing company WGC, which provides facilities services to several Radisson Blu hotels in London.
Following negotiations with UVW, WGC agreed to increase pay to the London Living Wage of £13.85 per hour, issue back-payments, reduce workloads to 14 rooms per day, and reinstate guaranteed 40-hour contracts.
In response, the workers voted unanimously to call off the strike. The decision follows earlier strike action on August 9, which was the first hotel workers’ strike in England in nearly five decades.
Pramod Thomas