Shearings Collapse is Massive Blow to Eastbourne

The announcement this evening of the collapse of Specialist Leisure Group Ltd. is a massive blow to Eastbourne's already vulnerable tourism and hospitality industry. 

The group includes Shearings Travel, Wallace Arnold, Coast and Country Hotels and a number of other brands.

The Bay Hotels subsidiary owned and operated the Burlington Hotel  and the Majestic Hotel on Eastbourne seafront.  Dozens of staff at these hotels will now be made redundant- some of whom have many years service.

We are not aware of any formal union recognition agreements within these hotels, but we know that a number of SLG staff are members of GMB and Unite- and they should contact their union, without delay, for support.

Information from the Receivers can be read here.

We will post more information as it becomes clear.

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.

Eastbourne Pier Tragedy: A trade unionist's perspective

Every trade unionist, resident, worker and visitor to Eastbourne was horrified by the blaze which devastated our Pier yesterday afternoon. Today, the full extent of the damage becomes more visible- with the old ballroom/blue room/arcade building reduced to an iron shell.

As trade unionists, our first mention must be to our brothers and sisters in the Fire Brigades Union, who bravely and expertly fought the fire- in particular managing to stop the blaze spreading to other buildings along the pier. Had that happened, we would probably be joining the ranks of those seaside towns whose piers were lost for ever.

Next, we think of the effect on jobs and working people in our town. While much has been made of the "decline" of the English seaside holiday, tourism remains buoyant in Eastbourne, supported by the conference and language school trade.  Hotels remain popular, and day trips swell the numbers throughout the season.  Thousands of jobs depend either directly or indirectly on that flow of visitors to our town- in shops, hotels, arts and historical venues, restaurants, the transport industry- and those services that support all people in Eastbourne, whether resident or visitor.

Eastbourne's seafront has been key to the town bucking the trend as far as seaside resorts go.   The well maintained Victorian façade has given us an edge over many rivals- and the Pier is central to that. Look at any brochure, magazine article, even many of the signs in the town, and the Pier is genuinely iconic.  Even the film industry has drawn on the town- Brighton Rock was actually filmed using Eastbourne's Pier !

So, what needs to be done ?

First of all- Eastbourne is open.  Many community leaders have been quick to talk up the town. MP Stephen Lloyd has been a highly visible figure: while we don't always agree with him, it is right that he, and all representatives of the town keep making that point.

However, we need to try and avoid some of the wilder speculation that has been going on- whether about how quickly or otherwise the pier will be reopened, right down to some of the stranger conspiracy theories doing the rounds on social media (I won't insult your intelligence by linking to them) .  The experts from the police support and  fire service (many of them our members) will be carrying out the most thorough investigations, and we should support them in doing that.

Already, some cynical comments have been made about how the re-opening of the Pier will be affected by "'elf and safety" rules.  Well, as trade unionists, who every year remember our brothers and sisters who are injured or killed at work, we know the value of safety rules at work.  Given that the Pier will carry hundreds of people, over water, with limited exits, it seems reasonable that safety is a top priority ! We should be pushing for the Pier not just to be reopened in the quickest way possible, but also in the safest way.

There are many people who directly rely on the Pier for their livelihood.  Staff who are employed on the Pier will face an uncertain time, and we should be available to give whatever support and advice we can (both to union members and not) to make sure that they are treated both in line with their contract, but also in a way that is fair and values their service to the company.   Many of the small outlets are run by small, sole traders, who potentially face ruin: and we should welcome the fact that the first priority of the fundraising efforts being set up is to support these people- many of whom could not get insurance for a pier-based business. If there are staff facing hardship, especially any short term staff who have not accrued employment rights (now requiring 2 years thanks to the coalition's attack on workers' rights) then the fund should look at how to support them too.

Then, of course, comes the need for the Pier to be properly restored.  The Pier is owned by a private company, and we assume that they have adequate insurance to cover such an iconic Grade 2* building.  However, insurance companies are often reluctant to pay out more than they deem necessary, and the community needs to ensure that no half-measures are taken or corners cut in restoring it.

I can draw on a bit of convoluted experience here.  I was a director of the company that runs  Stoke Rochford Hall, the NUT's training centre, in a Grade 1 listed building in Lincs. A few years ago, we suffered a devastating fire, which seriously damaged the building.  As well as us and the insurers, the local authority, English Heritage and others all took an interest, in ensuring that the building was not just restored, but restored in the highest quality manner.  It was not always easy, but the end result was an award-winning restoration that employed some of the most skilled (and scarce) artisans in the country.  Nothing less should be good enough for Eastbourne Pier !

Dave Brinson is Secretary of Eastbourne Trades Council, an official of the National Union of Teachers, and an Eastbourne resident of more than 30 years.

Trade Unionists are encouraged to join the Twitter and Facebook groups for the friends of Eastbourne Pier- @EBPier  and on Facebook here.  Pier workers who would like informal advice about their employment rights should contact the Trades Council, in confidence, by clicking here.

Photo: Sophie Lewis