Picturehouse cinema workers unite and strike for living wage

On Saturday 15^th October, staff from the Picturehouse cinema in Hackney joined up with fellow workers from the Ritzy cinema in Brixton to strike for a living wage. This joint action by workers at the Hackney and Brixton Picturehouses shows the way forward in the fight against low pay and precarious employment: united strike action against the bosses.

At midday on Saturday 15^th October, staff from the Picturehouse cinema in Hackney, London walked out for the first time, joining up with fellow workers from the Ritzy cinema in Brixton to strike for a living wage.

The Picturehouse workers from Hackney and Brixton were joined on the picket line by trade unionists, Momentum supporters, and local residents, who energetically showed their support for the cinema staff and their struggle against the bosses at Picturehouse owners, Cineworld, in the fight for decent pay and conditions.

The picket was loud and lively, with drums beating away and songs being sung throughout. Particularly popular was an adaptation of the Human League’s 80s classic “Don’t You Want Me”, with the new lyrics: “Don’t you want to pay me? Don’t you want to pay us a living wage?!”

Socialist Appeal supporters from Hackney were also present, discussing with Picturehouse staff about their fight and their demands. All of those we spoke to were young workers, who emphasised that whilst they enjoyed working at the Picturehouse, they just couldn’t afford to carry on living in London on the wage levels offered by Cineworld.

As the placards on display emphasised, Cineworld – the big business owners at the “alternative” and artsy Picturehouse chain of cinemas – were refusing to negotiate with the workers on the question of pay, despite the fact that the company made over £80 million in profit last year. As many we spoke to stressed, the price of food and drinks inside the Hackney Picturehouse has gone up several times in the last year, so why can’t the wages of staff go up also?

This joint strike action by workers at Hackney and Brixton follows on from a number of other recent strikes by the Ritzy staff, who are unionised in BECTU – the union for workers in the entertainment industry. Before Saturday’s joint action, BECTU members at the Ritzy were most recently out on strike only three weeks ago for similar demands over pay and conditions, as we have reported elsewhere.

A couple of the Ritzy members, clad in red t-shirts, explained how they had been on strike 13 times back in 2014, winning a 26% pay rise in the process. Nevertheless, they are still on rates below the London living wage, hence the renewed action. And this time their militancy has inspired workers at other branches, such as in Hackney, to join them. Meanwhile, several of the picketers talked about how the strike could spread even further, including to the Picturehouse Central cinema in Piccadilly Circus.

The main difficulty in getting the strike to spread, the Picturehouse workers explained, was getting union recognition, with the Hackney cinema refusing to recognise BECTU officially until recently. But these barriers are being broken down by the Picturehouse strikers through their militancy, organisation, and determination.

The picket was later addressed by local trade unionists and Momentum members, who offered solidarity from the rest of the labour movement and spoke of the similar fights being waged by workers across the board. In doing so, the speakers highlighted the general attacks facing workers in modern-day low-pay Tory Britain, where precarious employment and zero-hour contracts have become the norm for millions.

Saturday’s joint action by trade unionists at the Hackney and Brixton Picturehouses shows the way forward in this fight: united strike action against the bosses. The task now is for the leaders of the labour movement to broaden this struggle as far as possible, calling for a one-day general strike against the Tories and their austerity, and for decent pay, jobs, and public services.