GMB claims "thousands" more joining, as licensee is evicted

The GMB union has stepped up its campaign against the pubcos this morning by staging a protest in support of an evicted licensee, who it claims was "unable to make ends meet".

The union has also said it will work with the Pub Revolution movement and look at the possibility of industrial action.

Bill Synan, licensee of the Nag's Head, in Camberwell, South London, was forced to leave the pub by bailiffs after 17 years in charge.

Synan appeared visibly distraught as staff and friends helped remove the last remaining pieces of furniture and stock from the pub.

Bailiffs, accompanied by police, turned up at the pub around 10am to reclaim the property.

Donna Dowling, a GMB officer, said: "We are here to support Bill on this terrible day. We have lots of landlord member across the UK and we have thousands more joining at the moment and we will be consulting with them going forward."

Admiral Taverns, the pub's owners, said Synan was being evicted for having "continually breached the terms of his contract".

A spokeman for Admiral said its action was "very much a last resort" and "comes after numerous attempts on our part to reach an agreement with him".

Meanwhile the GMB has announced that it will work with the Pub Revolution movement, which has threatened to stage a mass boycott of the pubcos by not buying tied products or paying rent.

Paul Maloney, GMB national officer, said: "It was agreed that, in furtherance of the trade dispute in the industry, GMB will organize a nationwide official ballot to seek a mandate for official industrial action by tied tenant members in the industry.

"The aim of the action by the tied tenants is to secure negotiation with pubcos to achieve very substantial cuts in wholesale prices and a resolution to a wide range of grievances experienced by the tied tenants at the hands of the pubcos middle managers and their agents like Brulines."