[CN for assault]
On Thursday 20th June, we staged a picket outside of CJ Barbers in Kemptown as part of our ongoing campaign demanding over two months unpaid wages for a former worker. In response to this, the owners of CJ Barbers, Hamid Caram and Cyrus Shabini smashed up a chair and attacked the picket line.
This was a significant escalation of a now familiar tactic of CJ Barbers, which is to assault and attempt to intimidate picket lines. On the Saturday previous to this, Hamid assaulted a female member of Brighton SolFed who was outside of the shop.
Our dispute with CJ Barbers is in relation to a former worker who was paid £100 for two and a half months work. CJ Barbers have tried to claim that this was a 'voluntary' arrangement, but as the worker explains in this article, CJ Barbers did not uphold their end of this (exploitative) deal, reneging on the promise of training and a job at the end of the voluntary period.
For this reason, we are demanding that the worker is paid the national minimum wage for the two and a half months work he did, totalling £2800. We offered to negotiate with CJ Barbers before opening this dispute, and have offered them on a weekly basis the opportunity to make a reasonable offer to open negotiations. Their only response has been further intimidation, asking for 'one-to-one' meetings with no offer of payment made.
Worker solidarity is stronger than bosses. We won't be going anywhere until this worker gets paid.
An injury to one is an injury to all!
More information on this dispute:
1. http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/brighton/no-work-without-pay-boycott-cj...
2. http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/brighton/cj-barbers-dispute-business-th...
3. http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/brighton/i-train-people-for-free-becaus...
4. http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/brighton/i-was-desperate-for-work-despe...
5. http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/brighton/cj-barbers-intimidation-and-hi...