Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) has signed a voluntary recognition agreement with the Unite union – the first of its kind for a Scottish cinema.
Unite Hospitality – the UK union for hospitality staff – will represent staff working in GFT’s front-of-house and cleaning teams, and will formalise collective bargaining and negotiation on their pay and relevant workplace polices.
The agreement gives staff a greater say in future changes to working conditions and benefits.
GFT is home to the Glasgow Film Festival. It opened as The Cosmo in 1939, making it Scotland’s first independent arthouse cinema.
The agreement comes at a time in which unions are strengthening in all areas of the film industry – creative industries’ union Bectu has seen a doubling in numbers of new joiners in the past month, since the US actors’ union SAG-AFTRA announced its strike in July. The Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) strike has now passed the 100-day mark. Visual effects crews at Marvel Studios in the US voted to unionise earlier this week, while in the UK a new union, the Celebrity Stylists Union, has formed over the past year to represent stylists working with acting talent on the promotional circuit.
Scotland’s independent cinemas have had a particularly difficult year, with both the Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen and Edinburgh Filmhouse shuttering in October after the collapse of their parent charity, although there are plans afoot for Edinburgh Filmhouse to re-open as an arthouse cinema, under the management of former Filmhouse staff, and ownership of property management group Caledonian Heritable.
Allison Gardner, Glasgow Film chief executive, said: “The GFT recognises the benefits that an engaged staff, with collective voice, will bring to Glasgow Film as we continue to navigate challenging and uncertain times together as a team.”
“We believe that it is crucial to have official recognition of our right to collectively bargain as a workforce, and we are pleased that Glasgow Film Theatre has chosen to respect our decision to organise with Unite the Union,” added Kate Mack, Unite rep at GFT. “This decision will help to ensure that we maintain a positive and respectful work environment moving forward.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham noted “months of positive negotiations” between Unite reps and GFT management. “This is a landmark agreement which is already producing positive impacts on the jobs, pay and conditions of our members,” said Graham.
No comments yet