Workers at the Curzon cinema chain have launched a campaign to win living wages.
The hourly rate for most workers is £6.62, well below the £8.55 "London Living Wage" figure most official bodies, including Boris Johnson's GLA, agree is needed to get by in the capital (most of the chain's locations are in London).
According to the workers' petition, "On a current wage of £6.62 an hour, it would take workers two days to afford a bottle of one of the wines sold at the cinemas." Workers also face a reduction in their hours.
On 9 August, a Guardian article exposed that 150 Curzon workers were on "zero-hour contracts" - effectively the chain's entire non-managerial workforce. The Cineworld chain also employs 80% of its 4,300 workers on zero-hour contracts.
The fight against zero-hour contracts, shift reductions, and for the living wage is part of an ongoing organisation drive by workers through the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematographic, and Theatre Union (BECTU), which is fighting for recognition at Curzon.
