The Pret a Manger Staff Union believes all Pret workers deserve enough pay and enough guaranteed hours to live on.

Because of this, the Union is demanding Pret pay all its staff the London Living Wage of £8.55 (£7.45 in the rest of the UK).

But we know that Pret won’t listen just because we ask nicely. We need you to get involved: join the union, talk to your workmates about the campaign, and attend the upcoming public actions which will put pressure on Pret to give us the wage and the hours we need.

What else does PAMSU do?

• Mentoring of workplace activists
• Training on the skills we need to get organised
• Legal support
• Supporting each other when raising grievances or fighting disciplinaries

What makes PAMSU different?

PAMSU is an independent union. That means no managers, no politicians, and no bureaucrats. We don’t rely on the law or the goodwill of the company when it comes to fighting for the interests of Pret workers.

Instead, PAMSU believes all Pret workers—whether you’re a barista, team leader, kitchen staff or any other position—should come together to support each other. Only by standing together will we make sure we get the respect we deserve. It’s only through solidarity that we’ll make Pret a better place to work.

So get involved today: pret.staff.union@gmail.com

No pasarán!

PAMSU members are devoted to the Living Wage Campaign. We are not an isolated movement. We are a part of a global revolution that is knocking on the door. From London, Paris, Rome to Berlin, we will fight we will win! Two days ago, hundreds of fast food workers organized a strike for Living Wage in New York City.

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/11/30/hundreds_of_fast_food_workers_strike

This is an inspiration for PAMSU. Thousands of people all around the world are striving for a better pay. Once PAMSU get more members it will organize strikes like this and eventually force Pret to give us a decent pay. Get involved today and join the Union!

No pasarán!

According to the statistics provided by Pret A Manger to PAMSU on 12^th June 2012, 91% of Pret’s workforce were immigrants.

Appendix 3.2.1 Nationality list per shop at 12 June 2012

Out of 3,386 employees, 307 employees stated that they had British nationality and 89 stated that they were of white ethnic origin which is less than 3% of the workforce. Yet, this 3% controls positions such as general manager, area manager or operations manager, not mentioning Pret human resources which employs predominantly white British employees.

It is clear that Pret a Manger prefers to hire foreign workforce rather than British workforce. PAMSU believes that the reason for this selective recruitment approach is that Pret can much easily exploit foreigners than British people. Foreigners are more vulnerable as English is not their native language and they are not familiar with the legal system in the UK. That makes them perfect employees for companies like Pret.

Very often, Pret employees can’t stand the bullying and stand up for their rights. They complain informally or raise formal grievances. But the staff in Pret St Pancras branch took it one step further. On 1^st September 2012, 5 Team Members (all foreigners) formed the Pret A Manger Staff Union to fight for their basic rights such as being treated with respect and dignity or having access to their payslips and being paid the wages they deserved.

09-01-12 List of Demands

Pret A Manger, treat your staff with respect and dignity!

No pasarán!