Wetherspoons' boss Tim Martin accuses pub staff of 'gunboat diplomacy' as they join McStrike over pay
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- 04 Oct 2021
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Wetherspoons' boss has accused his pub staff of 'gunboat diplomacy' as they stage a strike.
Workers at two pubs in Brighton will walk out on Thursday to demand a £10 an hour wage - joining staff at a small number of McDonald's and TGI Fridays branches.
While a number of Uber Eats and Deliveroo couriers are also striking.
The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) arranged the joint strike to call out what they call pay "injustices".
But multimillionaire JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin stopped short of agreeing their demands when the Mirror caught up with him - at a Tory conference debate on "making work pay".
Instead he said: "We've got 40,000 employees and 19 are going on strike."
They obviously feel very strongly about this and it's important for us to look into the issues which are being raised, which we're happy to do.
"Whether it's right to use that type of gunboat diplomacy is another matter."
It came despite Mr Martin using the event to launch an impassioned defence of his workers, saying they shouldn't be labelled "low skilled" and he would "love" to see a barrister try and survive in his kitchens.
Mr Martin, who is worth £448million, earns a £324,000 salary and has 33million Wetherspoons shares, also laid into "some pretty dire directors out there earning tremendous amounts of money which seems to lack social justice".
But asked if his workers should get £10 an hour, he told the Mirror it was a "complex question" because Wetherspoons also pays its workers bonuses.
He added: "What I think should be taken into account is the amount we pay in bonuses which – a lot of companies which have eliminated bonuses and other benefits and have then increased the rate per hour.
"So we could certainly do that and get to the level that is being suggested. "But I think the scheme we've got with various benefits we're talking about is better."
Mr Martin appeared to suggest the firm could have to shut pubs if he gave a widespread pay rise.
"Obviously people know that if you put in a wage that's too high, there are already a lot of pubs and restaurants closing every week," he said.
"And you may if you get it wrong cause more to close."Asked if he was confident the action would not spread he said: "Running a business you cannot be confident about anything really, your number one point is to listen in a fair way.
"Whether this is the correct way to ask us to listen is the big debate.
Tory Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey shared a platform with Mr Martin at the event.She hailed Wetherspoons and backed the government working with the pub brand.
She said: "The next step is working more with businesses, about how do we multiply and have many more Wetherspoons within that sector."If it's a great idea, why don't you model it, copy it, format it, see what it does, and increase that?"
Pro-Jeremy Corbyn group Momentum is urging members to picket outside McDonalds stores including in Newcastle and London as part of the "fast food shutdown".
Navendu Mishra, Momentum spokesperson, said: “Fast food workers are amongst the lowest paid of any industry.
"Their contracts are often precarious, and many face disgraceful working conditions."The firms involved in the strike all already pay at least the legal minimum.
But activists say a £10 wage would give workers a fairer quality of life.
John McDonnell, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, said: "These are workers that have been ignored by their employers and are simply asking for a wage they can live on and the same basic rights at work we should all be entitled to.
“Under a Labour government, we will guarantee that all workers will have their rights at work protected from day one, earn a living wage of £10 per hour and that those on strike would be entitled to a share in the ownership of the companies they work for.”
A spokesman for McDonald's told the Sun: "Any suggestion that this activity is widespread and growing is not accurate – we understand that fewer of our employees are involved in potential industrial action than last May, with the support from our people of the union diminishing.
"The numbers also represent an extremely small proportion of our workforce - in Brixton, for example, just two of our employees have been balloted for strike out of a workforce of more than 100."
