Workers at Knightsbridge department store Harrods are voting to strike over three days, including during Boxing Day sales.
The United Voice of the World (UVW) independent union said 95% of its members at Harrods had voted in favour of the strikes on 21, 22 and 26 December. Striking workers include cleaners and shop floor staff.
UVW said the workers had “no option” than to take such action, as the luxury retailer’s management “refuses to recognise or engage with their union for negotiations”.
The workers are demanding a pay rise that exceeds inflation and the establishment of an annual Christmas bonus, starting with £500 this year. According to the union, some employees currently receive a £50 Harrods voucher, which they say is inconvenient to use.
Those striking are calling for an end to mandatory bank holiday shifts for cleaners and the practice of requiring part-time cleaners to work nine consecutive days without a break. They are also seeking greater transparency regarding the distribution of service charges collected from diners among restaurant staff.
Alice Howick, a member of the waiting staff at Harrods and a UVW member, said: “The time has come for us, the workers, to put ourselves and our wellbeing first and push for more than the bare minimum.
“As one of the world’s leading luxury department stores, Harrods should be setting the standard for retail and hospitality workers,” she said. “Instead, we are earning the living wage and denied basic benefits such as a food allowance and Christmas bonus – something which should be commonplace in a company accumulating millions of pounds in profit year on year. Striking is a last resort for us and will only happen if Harrods continues to be unreasonable in responding to our demands.”
Harrods said in a statement: “Those that have voted to strike, which amounts to 176 employees (approximately 10% of colleagues collectively in these specific affected areas), are a fractional minority of our workforce and we have contingency plans in place over the Christmas period to ensure our services are not disrupted by this planned action.”
Harrods also said that UVW was not a recognised union and therefore it “[does] not engage with this organisation on [its] policies”.
Petros Elia, General Secretary for UVW, said: “Contrary to what Harrods bosses say, we are still in a shameful period of their history. Their employees are still feeling the impact of a prevailing and deep-rooted toxic culture. Bosses at Harrods denying their dedicated workforce a Christmas bonuses and fair wages while lavishing obscene sums on its billionaire owners is proof. It’s outrageous that our members across retail, restaurant, kitchen and cleaning have had to vote to strike just to be heard. The workers have been left with no choice but to strike because management refuses to engage with them or even recognise their union. We call on Harrods to come to the table and negotiate so the store can remain open for Christmas shopping and continue to serve all Londoners this festive season.”
This comes during a difficult year for the heritage department store, which has been mired in controversy over a slew of sexual abuse allegations against former owner Mohamed Al-Fayed and the revelation that its current Qatari owners paid themselves a second consecutive £180 million dividend last year despite a 35% fall in profits.
In 2017, UVW successfully ensured that kitchen staff and waiters received 100% of the service charge, overturning a system where Harrods retained up to 75%. By December 2021, restaurant workers secured an pay rise of nearly 25%. This summer, migrant night cleaners were compelled to ballot for strike action due to restrictive new holiday policies that hindered visits to family in countries such as India.
Harrods has been contacted for comment.
