Take it or leave it
RETAIL staff on the front line of the holiday bookings slump
are facing stark employment choices following cost-cutting decisions by head
offices to lay off workers, shorten working weeks, introduce unpaid leave and
cancel cleaning contracts.
As consumers become fearful of worldwide anthrax scares and
bombings in Afghanistan, travel plans are being put off until next year. This
is leaving branches empty and profits are plummeting. As a consequence United
Co-op Travel Group has introduced a four-day working week, Thomas Cook is
preparing for compulsory redundancies and Thomson and First Choice have told retail
staff to clean up their own branches.
This week Lunn Poly managing director John McEwan gave the
clearest hint yet that Thomson may join its rivals and axe shop staff.
“Our current plans for no retail redundancies are conditional on seeing some recovery in January,” he said. “I don’t think anyone can guarantee there’ll be no job losses.”
McEwan has asked staff to take five days’ unpaid leave
between now and Christmas, while over 400 United Co-op Travel retail staff at
the group’s 90 branches will start four-day weeks – with a consequent 20% pay
cut – on November 5.
According to an internal memo obtained by Travel Weekly and
written by Mike Greenacre, United Co-op Travel general manager, the drop in
bookings since September 11 is costing the group more than £1 million a week.