Achi news desk-
An industrial tribunal has now ruled that the workers are owed three months’ wages and has ordered them to be paid – the highest award available.
The music venue’s sudden closure in July 2023 came just three days after workers took a historic strike amid a bitter dispute with the bar’s owner over working conditions.
Those who took part were the first group of bar workers to strike in Scotland for over two decades.
The issues raised by the workers included zero hours contracts, which do not offer much stability and see hours vary from week to week; staff under 23 and under 21 get lower rates for the same work; and the kitchen staff are expected to work 12 hour shifts. Unite members also raised concerns about health and safety working at the venue, which were dismissed as “absolutely untrue” by 13th Note owner Jacqueline Fennessy.
The strike was supported by a number of prominent musicians in Glasgow, including Paolo Nutini and Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai.
On the day the redundancies were announced, the owner of 13th Note was due to meet Unite representatives at the ACAS conciliation service to discuss a positive resolution to the dispute.
The decision to close the venue on July 19 2023 was announced in a press release issued by Ms Fennessy, which placed the blame squarely on industrial action.
“All businesses face challenges,” said Ms Fennessy, “but any issues raised were quickly rectified and the team were treated with integrity, respect and an honest desire to make their working lives better. The statements of serious health and safety issues were simply not true.
“With the business being driven into insolvency by Unite Hospitality, it is time for the 13th Note to sadly close its doors for the last time.”
With the support of the Unite union, the workers are now focusing on taking over the 13th Note lease from Glasgow City Council with a plan to reopen it.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite is pleased that the 13th Note workers won their tribunal against their former employer after they were dismissed last year without any consultation whatsoever.
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“The judgment is complete vindication for the workers who unionized in the face of appalling conditions which saw the location closed by environmental health. As this case shows, Unite is relentless in protecting the interests of our members and holding bad employers to account.”
Unite’s chief organizer for the hospitality sector, Bryan Simpson, added: “The 13th Notes workers’ successful tribunal claim came after they were dismissed without notice, in what was one of the most shocking examples of trade union persecution Glasgow has seen.
“Let this be a warning to unscrupulous hospitality employers everywhere; your workers will get justice and Unite will have their backs.”
Nick Troy, Unite’s chief representative at 13th Note, said: “We unionized to win a fairer and safer workplace at 13th Note but our employer did everything in its power to stop us, including closing our workplace.
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“When it came time to lay us off, the company didn’t even have the decency to notify us first – issuing a press release to the media before telling the workers they had lost their jobs.
“With justice served, we can now turn our focus to taking the venue back into the hands of workers so that Glasgow has a union bar and music venue that pays and treats its workers with respect.”
First opened on Glassford Street, the 13th Note moved to King Street in 1997 and expanded under previous owners, opening a short-lived music venue and nightclub on Clyde Street in Glasgow. The group briefly entered receivership four years later in 2001 before being bought out a year later.
The last remaining 13th Note venue gained a reputation for its vegan menu and became closely associated with the Scottish indie scene, hosting shows from the likes of Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai and Teenage Fanclub.
