reverse decision on thomas cook concessions
We, the undersigned, call on Thomas Cook to withdraw its decision to slash staff holiday concessions. In the past Thomas Cook has excused low rates of pay in the company by pointing to the add-on benefits of holiday concessions. The decision to slash concessions means that, even by Thomas Cook’s own standards, the company is now a low-pay employer. Despite working in the travel trade, many Thomas Cook employees will now no longer be able to afford a family holiday. As an example a family of 3’s holiday under the new scheme would cost £1,000 more, meaning our dedicated staff will have to tell their families they can’t afford their holiday this year. And the employees worst affected by the cuts in concessions will be those who have shown the greatest loyalty to the company, by sticking with Thomas Cook through all its difficulties. Thomas Cook response to objections was to say our employees are good at finding the bargain holidays and there are still the 48 hour concessions. The pay freeze, following on from years of below-inflation pay rises, will push down still further living standards of all Thomas Cook employees across the board. Such shoddy treatment is in stark contrast to the millions of pounds showered on Thomas Cook’s former chief executive on the occasion of his departure from the company – a contrast that underlines the injustice of the cuts in concessions and the pay freeze faced by the company’s employees. We therefore call on Thomas Cook to immediately withdraw its proposals.
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