Union joins Fair Pint pub campaign

Published: 21 May, 2009

A campaign to defend the British pub against crippling tenancy arrangements has been boosted by the support of one of the UK's biggest unions.

A campaign to defend the British pub against crippling tenancy arrangements has been boosted by the support of one of the UK's biggest unions.

Unite is linking up with lobby group the Fair Pint Campaign, to highlight so-called tied tenancies which have put financial pressure on landlords in Parliament on Wednesday.

According to Unite, the tenancy structure is forcing many pubs out of business, restricting consumer choice and raising pub prices.

Both organisations are expecting a high turnout at the lobby which will be urging action in response to last week's Business and Enterprise Select Committee's report on Pub Companies. It suggested that landlords were heaping financial pressure on publicans. The report pointed to an imbalance of power between the big pub companies and their tenants, and suggested the beer tie - which forces tenants to buy drinks and other prices from their landlord pub companies - should be limited.

Licensees Unite, the section of Unite which represents 10,000 licensees in the UK, is talking with Fair Pint, among others, on joining together to maximise their efforts to save the British pub industry.

Jennie Formby, Unite national officer for Licensees Unite, said: "We believe it is essential for all those who want to save the pub industry to combine forces and try to unite around a common agenda. While we may all have differences over the detail of what needs to be done, there are far too many groups campaigning separately, which can cause confusion.

"Unite and 'Fair Pint' share a common agenda, and that is to support our licensees. Our pubs are the lifeblood of our communities but they are being choked out of existence by a number of different factors, with the current structure of the beer tie being a key element.

"The Select Committee said that pub companies are bullying their tenants. It is totally unacceptable that the majority of tied tenants earn less than £15,000 a year for a 100 hour week, significantly less than the National Minimum Wage.

"We must now grasp the opportunity before us to look at and deal with all the issues that cause Licensees to leave the industry before it is too late"

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