A decent wage and sick pay -- it’s not a lot to ask for. But Cineworld is denying staff those basics. 

Staff at the Ritzy - a Cineworld Picturehouse cinema in London - have already fought hard for a living wage, and thought they’d won. But now two years later Cineworld has cynically renegaded on that promise to its workers. It’s still paying poverty wages to people across the country, who are struggling to make ends meet. 

Now’s the time to finish the job. Staff at two Picturehouse cinemas just went on strike, supported in their fight for better conditions by their trade union, BECTU. If we add our names to the public clamour for fair pay, we can secure a decent standard of living for hundreds of people. 

Stuck on poverty wages, worrying about paying your rent or bills if you get sick, is no way to live. Some staff need as little as a pound or two more to get by. Cineworld is a huge multinational corporation and one of the biggest cinema chains in the country - it can afford it. 

Public pressure has already had an impact on the cinema industry. Protests forced Curzon to pay a living wage, and Everyman cinemas phased out zero-hour contracts. That shows what campaigning together can do. 

If the Picturehouse staff win a living wage, then it will boost the chances of all Cineworld and cinema staff getting the same, decent pay. That’s why it’s crucial as many SumOfUs members as possible join the staff campaigning right now and add our names to their cause.