Harrods: Christmas strikes set for crisis-hit department store
Harrods, the crisis-hit iconic London department store, is braced for another blow as hundreds of workers voted to strike over the critical Christmas period.
Employees represented by the United Voices of the World (UVW) union will walk out from 8pm on Friday, 20 December, to Sunday, 22 December, and again from 12am on Boxing Day to 9.30pm.
Workers due to take part include those from Harrods’ retail, restaurant, kitchen, and cleaning departments.
Harrods has previously said that UVW is not a recognised union by the department store and that any strike action would not have an impact.
UVW said the workers “have had no option but to vote for strike yet again” after Harrods’ management “refuses to recognise or engage with their union for negotiations”.
Petros Elia, general secretary for United Voice of the World, said: “Contrary to what Harrods bosses say, we are still in a shameful period of their history.
“Their employees are still feeling the impact of a prevailing and deep-rooted toxic culture.
“Bosses at Harrods denying their dedicated workforce a Christmas bonuses and fair wages while lavishing obscene sums on its billionaire owners is proof.
“It’s outrageous that our members across retail, restaurant, kitchen and cleaning have had to vote to strike just to be heard.
“The workers have been left with no choice but to strike because management refuses to engage with them or even recognise their union.
“We call on Harrods to come to the table and negotiate so the store can remain open for Christmas shopping and continue to serve all Londoners this festive season.”
The industrial action comes amid the on-going revelations about former Harrods’ owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
Al Fayed is accused of sexual offences against dozens of women but was never charged while he was alive. He died last year aged 94.
Al Fayed acquired Harrods for £615m in 1985 and sold it to the Qatari royal family for a reported £1.5bn in 2010.
For its latest full year, Harrods posted a turnover of £1bn, a 8.2 per cent rise, while its operating profit was cut by £35m to £168m.
A Harrods spokesman said: “At Harrods we recognise the enormous contribution of our colleagues, particularly at busy trading periods such as Christmas.
“Those that have voted to strike, which amounts to 176 employees (approximately 10 per cent of colleagues collectively in these specific affected areas), are a fractional minority of our workforce and we have contingency plans in place over the Christmas period to ensure our services are not disrupted by this planned action.
“We have ongoing, open communication directly with our colleagues and our recognised unions on pay and benefits.
“Most recently, we have been engaging with colleagues directly through Colleague Forums and have also held town halls on issues that we know are of importance to our colleagues.
“We are committed to working with our colleagues directly to address concerns, as we have been to date and continue our constructive relationship with our recognised unions on pay and benefits.
“UVW is not a recognised union by Harrods and therefore we do not engage with this organisation on our policies.”