A PROTEST is due to take place at Tenby's Premier Inn this morning, Thursday June 17, calling for staff of the hotel chain to be paid the real living wage.

The 11am protest is one of five at Premier Inns in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and is taking place on the same day as parent company Whitbread’s annual general meeting in Dunstable.

As well as Tenby, the socially-distanced protests will take place at Premier Inns in London, Belfast, Glasgow and Aberystwyth.

The union Unite, which represents Whitbread workers in all grades, said its members are using the protests to call for an end to the ‘poverty pay culture afflicting the company’.

Unite national officer for hospitality, Dave Turnbull, said:

“Unless this happens, Premier Inn and Whitbread’s other businesses will soon find themselves struggling with endemic labour shortages.

“By becoming a Living Wage Foundation employer, Whitbread would also set an industry benchmark. This will carry great weight with customers and staff, as well as providing the hospitality sector with a solution to a recruitment crisis that left unaddressed will hobble the industry’s recovery well into the future.”

The union said that as the owner of the UK’s biggest hotel brand, minimum wage employer Whitbread could become the trendsetter for improved hospitality industry standards.

The real living wage, based on the cost of living and set by the Living Wage Foundation, is £10.85 in London and £9.50 in the rest of the UK.

Around a third of Whitbread workers are paid the minimum wage of just £8.91.

Most hospitality sector staff are paid the minimum wage, a situation that has contributed to well documented labour shortages across the industry.

Mr Turnbull added: “Unite has and will continue to criticise Whitbread for its shortcomings.

@During the height of the pandemic, however, it has to be said that the company led the way by topping up furlough, so staff received 100 per cent of their wages, and by rowing back on excessive plans to slash 6,000 jobs.

“By becoming a Living Wage Foundation employer, Whitbread would also set an industry benchmark. This will carry great weight with customers and staff, as well as providing the hospitality sector with a solution to a recruitment crisis that left unaddressed will hobble the industry’s recovery well into the future.”