Textile workers’ rights group: Shein ‘offering up fig leaf’ with £12m investment into factory standards December 6, 2022 Shein has left many environmental campaigners unimpressed after revealing it would invest £12.2m into improving standards at its suppliers’ factories. The Chinese retailer admitted its hours for workers at two sites breached local regulations, after allegations of worker mistreatment in a recent Channel 4 documentary. Staff at one factory were working up to 13.5 hour [...]
December strikes: Who’s walking out when and how will it affect you? December 6, 2022 December is set to be a month blighted by industrial strife, with everyone from nurses and posties to train drivers and security staff to walk out. With inflation reaching a 41-year high at an eye-watering 11.1 per cent, thousands of workers have voted to down tools and ask for a real-term increase in pay. As [...]
Have a Very Malty Christmas: The best festive whisky December 6, 2022 With Christmas just around the corner, time is running out to restock drinks cabinets or buy gifts for your whisky-loving friends and family. Celebrate the season in style with this eclectic selection of exceptional Scottish whiskies. Ardbeg Wee Beastie The youngest release in Ardbeg’s core range, the five year old Wee Beastie is anything but [...]
Two in five small theatres could close this Christmas following sales slump December 6, 2022 Two in five small theatres in the UK could face closure as energy costs soar and Christmas sales tank. According to a new study by GoDaddy and the Society of Independent Theatres, three quarters of independent theatres – those with fewer than 300 seats – say their ticket sales have still not returned to pre-Covid [...]
‘Thousands of jobs at risk’: Bar bosses despair over fresh Christmas rail strikes December 6, 2022 Pub and bar bosses were last night left despairing over a slew of fresh strike dates, which fall over Christmas. Rail union RMT announced three more days of walk-outs on Monday night, with workers set to strike from 6pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on 27 December. Industrial action had already been planned on 13, [...]
Grocery inflation dips for first time in almost two years but ‘long way down’ for price increases December 6, 2022 Grocery price inflation has dipped for the first time in almost two years while the price of a family Christmas dinner sits at an eye-watering £31. The rampant pace of price increases let up slightly this month, dropping 0.1 percentage points – the first dip in 21 months. Four-week inflation now sits at 14.6 per [...]
British farmers warn UK is ‘sleepwalking into crisis as food is under threat’ December 6, 2022 Britain’s union for farmers and growers has warned the UK is “sleepwalking” into a food supply crisis, Ahead of an emergency press conference later today, the National Farmers Union (NFU) said the Government needed to step in to assist primary producers under severe strain from soaring fuel, fertiliser and feed costs. Union president Minette Batters [...]
Marston’s swings back to profit as pub chain anticipates Christmas without Covid limits December 6, 2022 Marston’s has welcomed being in the black, after trade at its pub estate recovered from the side effects of Covid-19 lockdowns this year. In results for the year to 1 October, the community pub operator posted a total profit before tax of £163.4 m, versus a loss of £171.1m the year prior. The operator of around [...]
London venues warn they will haemorrhage sales if rail strikes go ahead this Christmas December 5, 2022 London restaurants have warned they will haemorrhage sales should planned railway strikes go ahead this month, as union bosses rejected a new pay offer over the week. Searcys champagne bar and restaurant chain, which has venues at the Gherkin and St Pancras International station, said it was worried it would take a 30 per cent [...]
Searcys boss: London venues set for ‘real reality check’ in the new year with spending slowdown warnings December 5, 2022 London restaurants face a “real reality check” come January and February, as consumers will pull back from dining out after Christmas, the boss of champagne bar chain Searcys has warned. Diners will “want to batten down the hatches” next year after enjoying their first Christmas free of Covid measures in three years, with the cost [...]