Sexual harassment of bar workers in Northern Ireland is “rampant”, a union is claiming.
Abuse of staff in pubs and clubs across the region - ranging from punters groping waiting staff to sexually charged verbal abuse - is the hospitality industry’s “dirty little secret”, Unite says.
The union says they are to commission local research into the issue after a survey in Britain found that 90% of hospitality workers of all genders have experienced sexual harassment.
They are also involved in a ‘Know Your Rights At Work’ campaign with staff at bars being handed cards outlining their rights and entitlements.
Neil Moore, a bar worker and Unite activist, is trying to “organise” workers in the sector.
He told Belfast Live: “Workers in hospitality are often at a total disadvantage when standing up for their basic rights. They often work under precarious contracts which mean that they have few guarantees or protections if they raise objections.
“A worker who is on a zero-hours contract finds it hard to stand-up for themselves to a boss who can decide - and often does - to punish them by withholding hours.
“Sexual harassment of staff is rampant - a Unite survey in Britain found 90% of hospitality workers of all genders have experienced sexual harassment; however female workers often experience the most sinister element. But the problem is, it’s viewed as part of the job.
“We’ve been getting our ‘know your rights’ booklet out all-over Belfast and almost everyone you meet has something to tell you about. One 16-year-old worker told me recently that when a customer grabbed her and literally pinned her to the wall, she was scolded by the manager for crying and shouted at to get back to work without any time-out after he was ejected from the premises.
“Another female worker was grabbed in a bear-hug by a customer as she was carrying a tray full of glasses - it’s like the normal rules of behaviour don’t apply to these people after they open those doors. If it happened to someone in a shop or an office there’d be outrage, but when it happens in a pub it’s somehow regarded differently and that has to stop.
“Other workers tell of the experience of being stalked by customers who regularly wait outside their workplace for them to walk home after their shift ends.
“That’s the reality of life for young hospitality workers in Belfast - it’s along-way from the picture portrayed by the industry bosses. Most workers we speak to, especially young workers have experienced abuse; it’s run of the mill in the industry - in fact, I would say sexual harassment of workers is the dirty little secret of the hospitality industry in Northern Ireland.”
The barman said that low wages, “precarious conditions and disrespect that workers in the sector succumb to, often leave workers reliant on tips and feeling powerless to speak out against both their bosses and harassers for fear of losing out financially, having their hours cut or worse”.
He added: “The bosses actively encourage staff to adopt a macho approach to what, in reality, is abuse. For most in the sector, working twelve hours or even longer in intolerable conditions with minimal breaks is normalised as a badge of honour. But a growing majority are starting to talk about the abuse, the harassment, the poor pay.
“Many recognise that joining a fightback trade union like Unite is the only way to tip the unfair balance of power that the bosses enjoy effectively in favour of the workers - the truth of the old maxim ‘in our unity, there is strength.”
On Tuesday, Unite launched an online survey to establish the experiences of bar staff in Northern Ireland.
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