Glasgow Film Theatre has agreed a deal for Unite to represent its staff, in what the union claims is a first for Scotland’s cinema sector.
Unite Hospitality announced a recognition agreement with Glasgow Film Theatre this morning.
The agreement means front of house and cleaning staff at the independent cinema will be represented by Unite, which the union says will “formalise collective bargaining and negotiation on their pay and relevant workplace policies.”
Glasgow Film Theatre already pays employees the Real Living Wage, guarantees minimum hours and harmonised sick pay.
Allison Gardner, Glasgow Film Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to have finalised this agreement with Unite on behalf of our staff. The GFT recognises the benefits that an engaged staff, with collective voice, will bring to Glasgow Film as we continue to navigate challenging and uncertain times together as a team.”
Read more: 13th Note Glasgow: Staff aim to return venue to 'workers' hands'
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Following months of positive negotiations between our Unite reps and GFT management, we are delighted to agree collective bargaining at one of the country’s leading cultural institutions.
This is a landmark agreement which is already producing positive impacts on the jobs, pay and conditions of our members. The GFT is not only one of the best cinemas in the country to visit but also work for following this exciting development in the sector.”
Katie Mack will be the Unite Rep at GFT. She said: “We believe that it is crucial to have official recognition of our right to collectively bargain as a workforce, and we are pleased that Glasgow Film Theatre has chosen to respect our decision to organise with Unite the Union. This decision will help to ensure that we maintain a positive and respectful work environment moving forward.
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 here