UPDATE: Support package unveiled, but what about the Pier Workers ?

Pic by Sophie Lewis

Not a phrase that a lot of trade unionists would use often, but it was a good thing that David Cameron was in Eastbourne today.  The PM and chancellor visited the scene of the Pier fire, spoke to those involved in the rescue, and announced that up to £2 million, apparently from the coastal communities fund, would be made available to support the local economy. At face value- very good, but, as always, the devil will be in the detail.

Cynics point out that Eastbourne is a key marginal seat, and the election is only months away. This is undoubtedly true, but any government of any political hue should be taking this disaster for Eastbourne's community seriously. While Cameron managed to get a swift plug for the Tory candidate in on his social media within hours of the visit, the main thrust appears to be focused on being supportive. His political opponent, Stephen Lloyd, our Lib Dem MP has also seemed to be extremely busy on this issue.  Commendable, and indeed, no less than our community should expect of an elected representative, again, whatever their politics.

First of all, and this seems to have been made clear today, the money should not be for the restoration of the pier itself. This was a privately owned building, and should have paid for adequate insurance.  If there are additional costs around the accuracy and quality of a rebuild, there are grants available from sources such as English Heritage that would be more appropriate.

The small, usually sole traders with concessions on the Pier have been specifically mentioned as being targeted from this fund, and we should support that. These people are  not "big business"- they are very much part of the working people's movement, and many face ruin.  Already suggestions of stalls at Airbourne and pop-up shops in empty units have been mentioned, and this is quite right.

But- and this is the big but- what about the people who worked on the Pier- in the arcade, in the bars, in Atlantis, on the maintenance and management of the Pier ?  Support for them seems an unanswered question at the moment.

We know that many of these staff were on relatively low wages, and there were no union recognition agreements in place (although we believe that there were individual union members working on the Pier.) They have lost their livelihood too.

As trade unionists, we should be demanding, first of all, that the employers (and their insurers) meet their obligations, both contractual and moral. If there are to be job losses, there should be a consultation with the staff and representatives, plus contractual notice. Staff on temporary contracts will not have accrued the right to redundancy money, but should still be paid their notice period.  We don't know how many, if any, staff were on the notorious zero-hours contracts, but if this is the case, they should be given a deal based on the hours they would have expected to work, and the employers should be publicly shamed if this is not offered. Those staff who are individual members of a Union should contact them right away for advice and support.

Even with their contractual rights however, many of the workers will face hardship. Already on fairly low wages, some may face as little as a week's notice, and then the task of seeking alternative employment at this late stage in the season, where most high-season vacancies will have been filled.  The Chamber of Commerce has been heavily involved in the talks in the past few days- they should strongly urge their members to offer any vacancies to staff displaced by the fire.

And, of course, the money to support "the local economy". This must include support to alleviate the hardship of ordinary working people who gave their services to the Pier, and find themselves facing uncertainty through no fault of their own.  The fund must be used to help them too.

We are informed that the MP and the task group that has come together, are looking very seriously into the plight of the Pier workers, and that an announcement is due very soon. To help them, we provide this useful graphic (we have started from 4.00pm yesterday, when it became clear that the Pier would be closed for business for some time.)  We will take it down when Pier staff get the fair deal they so rightly deserve.

 

Are you a member of Pier staff ?  Do you want advice or support about your contractual rights ?  Please let us know via e-mail here.