Boycott Picturehouse?

[Mick Mac]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> JohnL Wrote:

> ok good - but I doubt that this justifies "we are

> really delighted with this positive outcome"

on reading it again, I suspect now that the comment was tongue in cheek - as in not sacked for not breaking the law....

[JohnL]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Mick Mac Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > JohnL Wrote:

>

> > ok good - but I doubt that this justifies "we

> are

> > really delighted with this positive outcome"

>

> on reading it again, I suspect now that the

> comment was tongue in cheek - as in not sacked for

> not breaking the law....

I hope they get some kind of offer from the company - they're mostly young and have put so much effort into this.

[edphstaff]

Hey Mick Mac - yes it was tongue in cheek. sorry for being unclear, this stuff is all quite grim sometimes so we try and keep a sense of humour about it all.

and thanks for your kind words! we have put a lot of work in to this and it really does matter to us. we like to think of it as being symbolic for all those who are underpaid by super rich companies that could afford to pay us more

here's an article with your info:

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2017/07/picturehouse-cinema-strikes-are-becoming-emblematic-battle-workers-rights

if you'd like some more info please like our Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/edphlivingwage/

or tweet or email picturehouse saying you don't approve of how they treat us

[DulwichFox]

Not been to the 'Flicks' for over 40 years

Do they still use Film. and projectors. ? Do they still dim the lights ?

Or is it all digital screens ? I really do not know.

Do they still have Ice-cream ladies during the interval. ?

http://www.mirror-photos.co.uk/p/54/1950s-cinema-ice-cream-sales-7700271.jpg

Foxy

[edphstaff]

Foxy, nostalgia isn't what it used to be!

[Mick Mac]

I do love the picturehouse - and the staff are excellent and make a big difference to the enjoyment.

Happy to pay a little more myself (the membership are an incredibly good deal) and for them to get London living wage.

I remember that picturehouse did suggest once, on their website or somewhere else, that the employees received other benefits in addition to their salary - do you know if this is the case and what the benefits are supposed to be?

[Mick Mac]

Found it: The value of these perks depends upon how much cinema you watch and eat and drink i guess. Other perks are normal employment type expectations

Picturehouse staff package

*Membership bonus adding between 10 and 25p to each hour worked (excludes Ritzy)

*Paid breaks. So staff working an 8 hour shift, are paid for 8 hours but only work 7.5

*Membership to The Forum - an official, recognised staff union with bargaining rights

*Statutory paternity, pension, sick and holiday pay

*Unlimited Cineworld and Picturehouse Cinema tickets (subject to availability)

*Two tickets per week for guests

*Free eye tests (for those using screens)

*Cycle to work scheme

*Free popcorn, soft drinks and hot drinks

*30% off all food and beverages

*Late night working allowance

[Loz]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I remember that picturehouse did suggest once, on their website or somewhere else, that the

> employees received other benefits in addition to their salary - do you know if this is the case and

> what the benefits are supposed to be?

It was more that their current pay rate is ?9.05, but as they get a paid 30 min break (which I assume other cinemas don't pay??), which, they argue, makes their effective pay ?9.65 an hour which is 10p below LLW. They also get commission on selling memberships.

[edphstaff]

these are our bonuses and i'd just like to point out a few facts about each one:

*Membership bonus adding between 10 and 25p to each hour worked (excludes Ritzy)

-we are told this figure is on average and we've never seen where they get this from but it's certainly not what turns up on most of our payslips each month. also when someone renews online or by direct debit we get no bonus. PH have heavily incentivised this over the last few months and we've noticed a loss in bonuses

*Paid breaks. So staff working an 8 hour shift, are paid for 8 hours but only work 7.5

-we are still on fire evacuation duty when we are 'on break' so we have to be there, walkietalkie by our side. we are occasionally allowed to leave the building to go to the shop if there are enough other staff present and the manager says so. so although we are allowed to sit down to eat it's hardly a real break. both the living wage foundation and the law in the UK say breaks aren't supposed to be included in hourly pay calculations anyway.

*Membership to The Forum - an official, recognised staff union with bargaining rights

-the staff reps that work for this are paid by Picturehouse. they are not interested in our problems and over 300 staff have opted to join an independent union (BECTU) out of their own pocket

*Statutory paternity, pension, sick and holiday pay

-they are legally required to give us this, the bare minimum even though they made over ?90m in post-tax profit last year. we are only entitled to these after having worked at the company for over a year. one of our co-workers had been working full-time for eight months, got very sick and had to take out a loan to pay their rent. that's not right.

*Unlimited Cineworld and Picturehouse Cinema tickets (subject to availability)

-we can have these only at the last minute if the film isn't sold out. so it costs the company nothing, the seats are empty anyway. having said that, we are grateful for this and it's the only reason many of us still work at PH but as others have kindly mentioned here, seeing these films is part of our job. we are expected to be able to talk to customers about them. that's the whole point of an 'arthouse' cinema, or so we are told.

*Two tickets per week for guests

-same as above. also because it's last minute it's not very practical to invite two of our friends to come travel to meet us after work if it's going to sell out.

*Free eye tests (for those using screens)

*Cycle to work scheme

*Free popcorn, soft drinks and hot drinks

-these are all minor things and don't exactly help us pay our expensive london rents or student debt

*30% off all food and beverages

-the company still makes a profit on this reduction. most of the staff can't afford to eat at work even with 30% off and just bring a packed lunch or dinner from home

*Late night working allowance

-in terms of ED we get ?6 extra total if we have to stay in past midnight. our shifts are all supposed to end at 23.45 so this doesn't happen and managers often rush us so they don't have to pay us this. we are lucky to get it once a month but this depends on what shifts you do.

and if our 'effective pay' is ?9.65 why wouldn't the company just match the living wage? it's because 'effective pay' is not what we get or are guaranteed. depending on late night bonuses and having to work when you're ill is no way to live a dignified life when you're working for a company that makes tens of millions in post-tax profit

[dbboy]

Paid breaks, you're getting these each day, guess you don't have fire evacuation each day, so can't see the hardship of carrying a walkie talkie, if you planned it, one of you could go to the shop whatever and the others cover.

Tickets - they're free, what else can they give you??

Free eye tests (for those using screens, Cycle to work scheme, Free popcorn, soft drinks and hot drinks - they are offered, if you don't use them that is your choice, but they ARE offered.

30% off all food and beverages - Again its offered, if you don't choose to make use of the offer that is your choice.

Late night working allowance - provision has been made, if you get out before midnight isn't that a win for you, rather having to stay after midnight. Its called working smarter, not harder.

Living wage - can't answer that, suggest you speak with your manager.

Seems they are trying to offer staff things, if the staff do not want to make use of what is on offer, that's their choice.

Apologies if this sounds harsh, but when you break it down they are trying to give the staff things, reduced this, reduced that, free this, free that.

[rendelharris]

Most of the benefits mentioned are either negligible or legally mandatory - sick pay, holiday pay, paternity pay and pension contributions are not "benefits," they're mandatory. Half an hour off on an eight hour shift doesn't seem much - surely most people working 9-5 get an hour for lunch? The rest of the benefits seem pretty negligible, a free Coke or bucket of popcorn might be nice but oddly most landlords won't accept it in exchange for a rent reduction. I'm sure Picturehouse staff would far rather forgo the benefits listed here (beyond the mandatory ones) in exchange for the LLW.

[Mick Mac]

I think an important question here is how the Picturehouse remuneration/package compares to competitors

It seems some of the coverage of cinema pay suggests that picturehouse are as good if not better than the competition

any truth in this edphstaff?

as I say i'm supportive of you getting LLW but just interested in this point.

[JohnL]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I think an important question here is how the

> Picturehouse remuneration/package compares to

> competitors

>

> It seems some of the coverage of cinema pay

> suggests that picturehouse are as good if not

> better than the competition

>

> any truth in this edphstaff?

>

> as I say i'm supportive of you getting LLW but

> just interested in this point.

I can only guess that these jobs are seen as student jobs/young persons jobs

or a gateway in to a further role as I suppose you have to be living with parents

to survive on these rates (or be in a large house share).

I feel guilty I'm spending more in the pub per hour than they earn in that hour. :(

[Mick Mac]

?9.30 per hour at 7.5 hours per day and a minimum 240 paid days per year amounts to 16740 per annum - the expected net pay per year/month/week/day are :

Take Home ?14,662.88 ?1,221.91 ?281.98 ?56.40

at 300 paid days per year - gross ?20,925 per annum

Take Home ?17,508.68 ?1,459.06 ?336.71 ?67.34

[Loz]

rendelharris Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Half an hour off on an eight hour shift doesn't seem much - surely most people

> working 9-5 get an hour for lunch?

Of course, but that hour isn't paid. If you work 9-5 you get paid for 7 hours a day (35 hours/week), not 8.

[JohnL]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> ?9.30 per hour at 7.5 hours per day and a minimum

> 240 paid days per year amounts to 16740 per annum

> - the expected net pay per year/month/week/day are

> :

>

> Take Home ?14,662.88 ?1,221.91 ?281.98 ?56.40

>

> at 300 paid days per year - gross ?20,925 per

> annum

>

> Take Home ?17,508.68 ?1,459.06 ?336.71 ?67.34

I don't know.

I can just compare with the people sitting around me in my office - earning 3x as much at the least (with no unions of course) - there seems to be a huge disparity between low paid jobs and average jobs, never mind the CEOs and VPs on 500,000K+.

Edit: Once I'd have said that was good - and the guys can go looking for a job paying more .. but I'm not so sure that that level of difference should exist now.

[edphstaff]

dbboy, 'Living wage - can't answer that, suggest you speak with your manager'. that's the issue really, all the other benefits are negligible when it comes to paying rent. management wont listen to us and have refused to negotiate with us about it for over two years. that's why we've had to go on strike

Mick Mac, I think that is a fair question. PH's nearest competitor in terms of size and target audience etc. would be Curzon and they pay their staff the london living wage. Also fully independent places pay the LW too, for example the ArtHouse in Crouch End do, it's one door away from the PH Crouch End. Even if Curzon or others didn't pay the living wage I don't think that would stop us demanding it. PH made over ?90m in post-tax profit last year. We are asking for a pay rise of a few pence per hour.

rendelharris and johnL thanks for your continued support.

I'd also like to point out that when you're carrying out calculations about our annual incomes that most of the staff are on zero-hour contracts. Cinemas are quite seasonal so there's lots of hours going around now as oscar films come out and up to Christmas with Star Wars and big blockbusters. In the new year and the summer there's a lot less need for staff. This summer the most I could make, working all the hours I could get and taking the shifts of other staff on holiday was take home ?800 a month. My rent is ?500 a month so we are not left with much. When you factor annual income would be about ?11-12,000 a year. Some weeks I work 40 hours, some weeks 20. We take what we are given and save for the quieter months. Also I think it's worth saying that we work with staff with young children to support.

[Mick Mac]

edphstaff Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> I'd also like to point out that when you're

> carrying out calculations about our annual incomes

> that most of the staff are on zero-hour contracts.

> Cinemas are quite seasonal so there's lots of

> hours going around now as oscar films come out and

> up to Christmas with Star Wars and big

> blockbusters. In the new year and the summer

> there's a lot less need for staff. This summer the

> most I could make, working all the hours I could

> get and taking the shifts of other staff on

> holiday was take home ?800 a month. My rent is

> ?500 a month so we are not left with much. When

> you factor annual income would be about ?11-12,000

> a year. Some weeks I work 40 hours, some weeks 20.

> We take what we are given and save for the quieter

> months. Also I think it's worth saying that we

> work with staff with young children to support.

ok understood - it looks therefore that it's the zero hours contracts that are the problem, more so that the hourly rate? although LLW entitlement is important.

I had assumed at least some of you guys were full time employed - apologies.

[stantonb]

I never knew people like you existed before going to EDPH. Insecure snobs demanding staff attend to their needs like children do to their parents. The riff-raff you describe are a lot more human than you will ever feel.

[rendelharris]

Loz Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> rendelharris Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Half an hour off on an eight hour shift doesn't

> seem much - surely most people

> > working 9-5 get an hour for lunch?

>

> Of course, but that hour isn't paid. If you work

> 9-5 you get paid for 7 hours a day (35

> hours/week), not 8.

That depends on your contract: I've definitely worked in places where I was paid for eight hours, one of which was a paid hour's break. Anyway, it's legally mandatory to give people working more than 4.5 hours a half hour break so again, it's not a "benefit" for which the staff should be grateful (I know you didn't say that but others did).