UK cinema workers take action over contract terminations following coronavirus closures

Cineworld workers are protesting over a lack of clarity over contract terminations
Simon Cocks/Flickr
Harry Fletcher24 March 2020

UK cinema workers have taken action after being left in the dark following coronavirus closures.

The biggest chains have closed cinemas in the UK, including the likes of Cineworld, Odeon and Vue, with the government urging people to stay indoors.

As the Guardian reports, Cineworld staff are protesting following a lack of clarity over contract statuses in the wake of the closures.

The Cineworld Action Group responded after Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinge announced that staff contracts would be terminated “with immediate effect” at Cineworld and sister chain Picturehouse. Staff received an email from Greidinger last week saying: “If your employment has been terminated… we will come back to you as soon as we can and in particular, whether we can now offer an alternative option to you.”

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When approached for comment, Cineworld released a statement saying that the situation is still under review.

Cineworld's statement reads: “Following the government’s announcement on Friday evening around the support they are now offering the leisure industry, including cinemas and their employees, we have written to our staff to let them know that we are currently reviewing this and assessing what help we are able to give them. We are doing this as quickly as possible and will be updating our employees soon.”

Odeon Workers Union also claim that Odeon previously announced plans to pay staff until March 23. The company has since announced an application to the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, but the situation for staff on casual contracts is still unclear.

The Standard has reached out to Odeon for comment.

Coronavirus has had a devastating effect of the film industry, with cinema closures, film delays and the cancellations of events like the Cannes Film Festival.

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