Staff at a cinema in Glasgow city centre claim to have been sexually assaulted, attacked and spat at when making their way home following a drastic reduction in late-night shift allowances.

In an open letter to cinema bosses, staff at Cineworld's Renfrew Street branch said they were considering "direct action" following a decision to drastically reduce late-night travel allowances for staff by as much as 75%. 

Many of the staff who are on zero-hour contracts say they now have to choose between getting home safely and paying the bills. 

Cineworld bosses cut susidies for travel from £8 per person per night to just £2 with staff claiming they will take action if the decision is not reversed by the end of the year. 

The Herald:

In total, 160 members of staff signed an open letter to Cineworld CEO Moshe J. Greidinger, criticising the decision and detailing sexual assaults, violence and intimidation experienced by staff members whilst walking home in the early hours. 

According to the letter, staff on the late shifts have been kissed and touched without consent on the street, with one member of staff claims that she was covered in food by three men who cornered her on her way home, leaving her with a black eye.

Staff said they held bosses “partly culpable for the things that have happened... on the way home from work”.

Better than Zero's Safe Home initiative is now supporting the campaign of staff members who launched  a branch of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU) at the Renfrew Street site. 

READ MORE: Cineworld Renfrew Street to re-open after fire closure 

The campaign, launched earlier this year, calls for full taxi allowances paid by businesses, as well as ending street harassment from customers and the public.

Speaking to the Evening Times, Claire Peden, campaign co-ordinator, said: “Young people on minimum wage and zero hours contracts should not be left making a choice between paying their bills or paying for a taxi home to ensure their own safety.

“All these workers are demanding is that Cineworld, the world’s second largest cinema business, takes the responsibility for helping get their late night workers home safe. This is surely not too much to ask.”

READ MORE: Glasgow Cineworld to host Scotland's first 4DX cinema screen that can simulate motion, weather and smells 

In a statement, Cineworld said: “The safety and well-bring of our staff is of the highest priority to us and that’s why we choose to subsidise late night transportation for our staff. 

“To be clear, this is not a legal requirement nor a common standard in our industry, but rather a policy Cineworld values and therefore chose to implement.

“We regularly review our policies which includes comparing our travel policies to that of similar businesses within the cinema, retail and leisure industries, and while it is true we made changes to the structure of our subsidised travel allowance, please be assured we value the feedback of our staff members and will continue to contribute to late night allowances as we take the safety of our staff extremely seriously.”

This story appeared as an exlusive on The Evening Times