If you thought that by going to a Picturehouse Cinema you were somehow patronising an independent, alternative, eco-friendly, huggy-buggy enterprise that stuck it to the man then think again. Staff at the Ritzy in Brixton, are going to be striking this Saturday over a proposal to increase their minimum wage salaries from £5.35. to £5.41.
The Picturehouse's owners, City Screen, it would appear, are "the man".
When Londonist went down to see what was going on, staff told us that a strike was most certainly going to be occuring during the screening of Pirates of the Caribbean and the other shows on the weekend, but that a normal service would be provided by non striking staff from the Ritzy and possibly other Picturehouses. A notice on the website of the union Bectu confirms that the strike is official.
The Ritzy has survived being one of John Major's childhood haunts, the riots, a decade when ganja was openly smoked, and recently an influx of bland trustafarians. We are confident that it will overcome its present difficulties soon.
Photo courtesy of Buckaroo Kid on the Londonist Flickr Pool.
By Russ Coffey
Published May 2007.
