The arthouse cinema chain Curzon, which runs nine sites around the country, has agreed to pay front-of-house staff the London living wage at its six cinemas in the capital.
It follows a year-long negotiation with media union Bectu as well as an online Change.org campaign, and sees wages rise from around £7 an hour to £8.80.
The decision puts pressure on its rival chain Picturehouse, which is embroiled in a dispute over pay at its Ritzy cinema in Brixton. Picturehouse, owned by multiplex group Cineworld, agreed to the demands for the living wage, but then said 20 redundancies would have to be made to accommodate the rise.
Announcing Curzon’s wage rise, chief executive Philip Knatchbull praised his staff who “make Curzon special” with their “knowledge of film.” Bectu’s general secretary Gerry Morrissey made an overture to Picturehouse, saying that: “We can see no reason why other cinema chains cannot follow the Curzon lead.”
Strikes are being mooted by Ritzy staff in the face the redundancies, with Bectu official Will Donaghy telling the Evening Standard: “The duplicity of these people knows no bounds. What they have done as soon as the deal was implemented is to employ an individual with a reputation for being a ‘union blaster’. This is payback, without a doubt.”
The workers recently won the support of Will Self, who supported a boycott of the venue, writing: “If the punters wake up and smell the crap coffee of corporate greed, perhaps we won’t be so keen on contributing to those revenues.”
