Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has come out in support of Unite Hospitality’s plans to bring a Glasgow bar and live music venue under workers’ ownership.
Unite members from the 13th Note are running a campaign to bring the venue under employee ownership after liquidators were called in last month following industrial action.
Jeremy Corbyn MP has released a video wishing the workers well in their bid, adding: “Next time I’m in Glasgow, let’s hope you have won it by then, can I be the first teetotaler in 13th Note to get a glass of apple juice?”
The MP, who now sits as an independent after having the Labour whip suspended, said: “What a great campaign for the workers to take over 13th Note with the support of the Unite Hospitality branch.
Read more: Glasgow's 13th Note to close after 21 years blaming union "onslaught"
“Workers’ control of a pub or hospitality venue for the benefit of themselves and the working class as a whole is something that’s absolutely fantastic.”
13th Note closed its doors after 21 years following staff strikes which marked the first industrial action taken by bar workers in Scotland in over 20 years.
The first strike took place on the weekend of 14-16 July, and workers intended to continue every weekend until 6 August, however the bar was closed down after the first action.
When @jeremycorbyn commits to being your first visitor you know @13thNoteWorkers are onto a good thing ❤️✊🏼💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/7CzIkl0gfo
— Unite Hospitality (@FairHospitality) August 7, 2023
Owner Jacqueline Fennessy said 13th Note had been “driven to insolvency by Unite Hospitality”.
The workers’ grievances stemmed from both a pay dispute as well as health and safety concerns. The claims of health and safety issues were denied by Ms Fennessy.
Amid the dispute, the venue was ordered to close in order to fix hygiene issues when a remedial action notice was served by Glasgow City Council regarding pest control issues.
Unite Hospitality branded the 13th Note’s closure as “trade union intimidation” and a public campaign to reopen under worker ownership has now been launched.
Read more: 13th Note Glasgow ordered to close over health issues
The campaign has included a Crowdfunder which has so far raised over £9000 for the plans and a fundraising concert which took place last night at The Classic Grand in Glasgow, with performances from Tina Sandwich and Calum Baird.
Mr Corbyn was speaking in front of a banner for the Peace and Justice Project, an organisation which he founded in 2021 and which aims to “connect people, communities and organisations through events and discussions on vital issues such as climate action, new economics and refugee protection."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel