Rank Group has stressed disappointment at strike action facing London’s Grosvenor Casinos this coming weekend, with it expected that all venues will remain open as usual.
The company stands by a “strong offer” that has been made “against the backdrop of an extremely challenging trading environment,” after the Unite trade union had previously detailed an impending walkout of around 150 workers.
These are mainly thought to be made up of croupiers and dealers but also include waiting and kitchen staff, with a 91 per cent majority having rejected bonus payments that it said ranged between £600 and £800.
A spokesperson for Rank said: “We are disappointed that the Unite union has brought about strike action over the coming weekend amongst a small number of colleagues in four of our eight London casinos.
“Against the backdrop of an extremely challenging trading environment for Rank, and for the sector as a whole, we have made a strong offer which we believe fairly addresses the current cost of living crisis. We expect all of our casinos to be open for business as usual this weekend.”
Unite had previously added that “not improving pay is not an option,” with the offer deemed as “totally inadequate amid a grave and growing cost of living crisis”.
CasinoBeats understands that Rank has increased pay by an average 11.1 per cent across all Grosvenor casinos’ London-based roles on a like for like basis.
These increases were then followed by the two retention bonuses, which are believed to have totalled approximately £1400, and came in addition to the aforementioned pay increases.
Unite has said that the strikes will commence at 18:00 on Friday 9 September and run until 06:00 on Monday 12 September, and will impact Grosvenor’s The Victoria, The Rialto, The Gloucester, The Park Tower, The Golden Horseshoe, The St Giles and The Barracuda venues.
