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Hospitality firms urge against Christmas rail strikes

04 October 2023 By Eloise Feilden

Leading hospitality businesses, including Greene King, Rick Stein and Stonegate Group, have joined UKHospitality in calling for an urgent resolution to the ongoing rail strikes ahead of potential Christmas disruptions.

Hospitality firms urge for no Christmas rail strikes

A list of 37 hospitality brands have signed an open letter, alongside UKHospitality, to the Transport Secretary, RMT, ASLEF and Rail Delivery Group, urging them to ‘redouble efforts’ to resolve the ongoing dispute.

It comes as fresh rail strikes are set to cost the sector up to £400 million, on top of the £3.5 billion already lost over the last 16 months.

The letter urged both rail unions to make a public commitment to not strike during the critical festive period, to avoid significant economic harm to the sector.

In the open letter, the group says: “The significance of the festive season to our sector cannot be overstated. It represents a crucial time when we traditionally see a substantial portion of our annual revenue generated, crucial to enabling venues to operate during the quiet months at the start of the year.

“The festive season is a crucial period for our workforce: missed shifts and subsequent lost earnings – including lost income from tips – would be most acutely felt around Christmas.

“We are urging the rail unions to make a public commitment to not strike during the critical festive period. Striking would cause significant harm to hospitality businesses, undermine workers’ ability to earn and disrupt the plans of hard-working families across the country.”

The signatories to the open letter are:

All Our Bars Limited
BALPPA
Beds and Bars
Beer and Buns Limited
Big Table Group
Cigalon
Club Gascon
D&D London
Drake&Morgan Ltd
ETM Group Ltd
Fuller, Smith and Turner
G C Mallen
Glendola Leisure Group
Greene King
Heartwood
Hippodrome Casino
Hollywood Bowl Group
Incipio Group
Le Bar
Legacy Hotels & Resorts Ltd
Marston’s PLC
Mitchells & Butlers
Punch Pubs & Co
Revolution Bars Group
Rick Stein
Rosa’s Thai
St Brides Spa Hotel Ltd
Sticks’n’Sushi
Stonegate Group
The Breakfast Group Ltd
The Laine Pub Company
Thorley Taverns Ltd
Tossed
Urban Pubs and Bars
Vapiano
Wasabi
Yummy Collection