Workers at Kimpton Clocktower will walk out on the Saturday of this year's Manchester Pride, in a long-running dispute over union busting.

Unite members at the hotel and its bar venue The Refuge will take 24 hours of strike action on 29 August - historically the most lucrative day of the year for their employer.

The Kimpton Clocktower is located very close to the parade route, which takes place on 29 August. For several years, the venue has been a very popular location for people attending the parade and it runs several Pride events.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Our members at Kimpton Clocktower are simply seeking to be represented by their union, but instead of granting them this management has bullied them and undertaken union busting at every turn."

For months, workers at the Kimpton Clocktower, which is owned by InterContinental Hotels Group UK (IHG), have been asking for formal union recognition to improve conditions after raising several issues with management.

As well as refusing to offer formal union recognition, IHG UK also sacked two senior Unite representatives on trumped up charges and held a disciplinary for another which resulted in a formal warning. Unite believes they were targeted for undertaking union activities, something which is illegal under UK employment law.

Previous strikes this summer caused financial hits to the business with the bar closing early at several events, including viewing parties for the World Cup, as there were not enough staff to cover them. Meanwhile, in support of the striking workers Manchester City Council told Kimpton Clocktower Hotel it was looking to cancel its provisional booking for the Best of Manchester Awards ceremony in October.

Unite regional officer Alison Treacher said: "A strike on Kimpton's most profitable day is entirely of its own making. Throughout this dispute Kimpton Clocktower management have treated its loyal workforce with contempt and our members have shown they will not stand for it.

"There is still time to avoid this highly disruptive strike action, but that relies on IHG changing tack by listening to its members and giving them the union recognition they have long been calling for."

The dispute is the first ever hospitality strike in the North West. Unite is currently running a petition demanding IHG UK stop targeting union activists, recognise the Kimpton workers rights to have their grievance heard collectively and support their union recognition campaign.

ENDS

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