As industrial action dominates headlines across sectors, a quieter but significant milestone has emerged in the UK hospitality industry: the first major hotel strike in over 45 years. While resident doctors debate fair pay in the NHS, young hospitality workers are raising their voices over age-based pay disparities. 

It’s hard to avoid media coverage of the current doctors’ strike in England with healthy, often heated, debate about an appropriate hourly rate for resident doctors.  With less coverage, yesterday saw the first strike action at a major hotel in the UK for more than 45 years. 

Like the resident doctors, those taking action at a hotel in Glasgow are shining a spotlight on their value, and in particular what they view as an arbitrary distinction based on age.  Anyone who has worked in hospitality knows it involves long hours on your feet, breaks at times to suit customer-demand rather than comfort and a willingness to stay late to deliver customer-service.  Although the National Living Wage increased in April, there is still a difference of £2.21 per hour between a 20 year-old and a 21 year-old pulling the same pint behind the same bar – this amounts to £4,000 per year for those working full-time. 

We all know prices do not vary according to age with young people often paying high levels of rent due to the difficulty of stepping onto the housing ladder. Is the tiered minimum wage based on an assumption that those under 21 are living at home and less dependent on their wages for living expenses? 

This is surely rebutted by a survey of young workers by the STUC which found that almost two thirds find themselves in debt at this early stage of their careers. The union rep at the Glasgow hotel is inviting the hotel owners to sit round the table with Unite and its members to negotiate on providing paid breaks and backpay for those under 21 to bring their pay in line with another site in the chain where the under-21 rate is significantly higher. They are fighting for a proper living wage, irrespective of age. 

This is a fair request, but in a sector which struggles with employment costs – and has already absorbed the higher Employer National Insurance contributions - is this commercially viable? UK Hospitality’s #taxed out campaign has highlighted the difficulties posed by the increase in Employer’s NI, rates bills and VAT. New ONS data shows hospitality has lost 84,000 jobs since the budget and social media highlights the difficulty of finding jobs in hospitality this Summer which used to be a given for students. Will this demand to level wages see more jobs lost rather than benefitting those seeking higher pay? 

Like the resident doctors is it a case of, “We hear you, we understand your position, but the sums just don’t add up”? 

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