Six demand letters have been delivered this week.
Three of them by registered mail, and three personally handed over by a number of people in Leiden, The Hague and Leidschendam.All this at three espresso bars, addressed to the same boss, with the same demand: compensate former staff and stop exploiting people!
What exactly is going on?
We were approached by a group of people who had all worked at these coffee shops and had to deal with the same problems. The salary was below minimum wage, cleaning time was not paid and so on. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the boss makes people pay for an expensive “barista course” where they basically work for free. He ‘pays’ of two of the three ‘course days’, but when people resign, he withholds that money from their wages.
Six former employees decided not to put up with this. They joined Horeca United to campaign with us. We have carefully calculated and listed their wage demands, but they want more than that: We also demand that this boss obeys the law and stops exploiting. The contracts and house rules must be revised and adapted to the CAO Horeca, and unpaid work or paying for a course yourself is no longer an option. Otherwise we will take action.
The ultimatum for this boss expires in about two weeks. What to do if he does not comply with the demands? The plan is there, but it needs to be worked out and executed. This is a call to action to all of our members and allies. Do you have a great idea, do you want to think along or participate in possible actions? Fill in the contact form or mail us at horeca-united@riseup.net!