GMB announces pub strike roadshows

The GMB has announced a series of 16 dates for its roadshows to gain support for a national ballot on industrial action by tied pub tenants.

As a first step, the GMB is to ballot its members over whether they are for or against industrial action and what form that should take.

The union believes that any member taking part in industrial action has legal immunity for 12 weeks under trade union legislation, as long as a majority vote in favour of the action.

The first step in any such industrial action could be a switch-off of all Brulines beer flow monitoring equipment. "The recent U-turn on the OFT investigation and the appointment of John Healy as Minister for Pubs gives scope for parallelpolitical action to help secure cuts in wholesale prices from the pubcos," said GMB national secretary Paul Maloney.

A spokesman for the Pub Revolution group, which first advocated industrial action, said: "Parliament has given tied tenants legal immunity in trades disputes when we are members of an independent and registered trades union. There is no doubt in our minds that pub tenants need to use this immunity to free themselves of the yoke of the pubcos and GMB agrees with this.

"We think there is no other effective remedy since the OFT washed it hands of the dispute. We want to use the road show to explain all this to tenants and secure their support for action."

However, there is still uncertainty over whether tied tenants, as self-employed business people, are protected if they take industrial action such as witholding rent.

David Morgan of Cookseys DMP, and a Fair Pint founding member, has warned that pubcos would not take a soft line against tenants who broke their contracts.

The dates for the GMB meetings are:

• 10 Feb, Pub on the Pond, Swansea

• 11 Feb, Queen's Arms, Leeds

• 16 Feb, London Club, Sheffield

• 17 Feb, Electric Theatre, Guildford

• 18 Feb, GMB Offices, Halesowen

• 23 Feb, Bread and Roses, Clapham

• 23 Feb, Tawny Owl, Darlington

• 25 Feb, Plymouth Arms, Cardiff

• 25 Feb, The K2 Centre, Crawley

• 2 March, Dovecote, Bristol

• 2 March, Dover Town Hall, Dover

• 3 March, Livingston Inn, Livingston 

• 3 March, Three Cups, York

• 9 March Farmhouse, Grimsby

• 11 March, Nelson Inn, Harrogate

• 14 March, Medway Manor Hotel, Rochester