Harrods security guards and CCTV operators are set to strike in a row over pay.
Unite the Union said its members at the luxury department store are angry at being offered a below inflation pay increase and being required to work half an hour unpaid every day, to collect and drop off equipment at the start and end of their shift.
Workers are also disputing having to undertake an additional unpaid “training day” every eight weeks, and 97% voted in favour of strike action after a two-week ballot by the union resulting in an 84% turnout.
The walk-out is likely to begin next month and union bosses said they expect it to cause “a great deal of disruption” at the iconic Knightsbridge store.Unite regional officer Balvinder Bir said: “The stonking majority in favour of strike action underlines our members’ strength of feeling on these issues.“Harrods management are now drinking in the last chance saloon. Only by making an improved pay offer and ending the injustice of unpaid work, can they avoid strike action.“If strikes go ahead then it will greatly disrupt the smooth running of the prestigious store and will embarrass Harrods’ brand nationally and internationally.”
The union said Harrods now had one final chance to return to the negotiating table with a renewed pay offer.
Unite secured formal union recognition for the security officers and CCTV operators earlier this year.
The store netted profits of £171.6m in the year up to February 2019, with its Qatari sovereign wealth fund owners paying themselves a £125m dividend, according to the Retail Gazette.
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UK has approached Harrods for comment, but a spokesperson previously said its security guards were paid “generously and in line with industry benchmarks”.Related... Jailed Banker’s Wife Who ‘Spent £16m Embezzled Cash In Harrods’ Faces Extradition Hearing