On 21 June, as workers at the Ritzy Picturehouse cinema in Brixton took their seventh day of strike action for the London Living Wage, we held a solidarity action outside the Greenwich Picturehouse.
We distributed Ritzy Living Wage literature and the Cinema Workers' Solidarity campaign leaflet explaining BECTU's call for a boycott of Picturehouses until their management caves. We had numerous conversations with customers. About 80 signed a petition in support of the Ritzy workers' strike and their Living Wage demand; dozens handed in a letter to management expressing their displeasure; quite a few said they would boycott Picturehouses in future; and a few turned around there and then. We also spoke to several workers, some of whom said they were interested in joining the union.
The Picturehouse group, which is now owned by Cineworld, pays workers the adult minimum wage of £6.31 an hour. 5.2 million people in the UK are paid less than the Living Wage. While workers, including those at the Ritzy, fight for improved pay, the Living Wage Commission has failed to support calls for a higher minimum wage, saying it should be left up to employers. The archbishop of York, John Sentamu, has argued that consumers could persuade bosses to pay the Living Wage.
Relying on the consciences of bosses will get us nowhere; instead we should take our lead from workers like those at the Ritzy, and fight for what should already be ours.
