"Harrods £68m in red and faces strike by dozens of restaurant workers", 3 November 2021

...United Voices of the World, which represents waiters and chefs at Harrods, said it was balloting members about a strike in Christmas week after demanding pay be raised to a minimum of £12 an hour, from just over £9 an hour at present. It said unrest was partly prompted by a heavy workload for staff after job cuts.

Petros Elia, the general secretary of UVW, said: “Our members work in the most famous luxury department store in the world, and yet they are paid poverty wages whilst generating millions of pounds in profit for their bosses . Our members are not willing to tolerate this any longer.”

...a Harrods spokesperson said: “...Harrods has faced an extremely difficult 18 months, with long periods of closure that have entirely removed our ability to operate as normal. However, throughout this, our absolute priority has been the welfare of our staff and safeguarding as many jobs as possible.

“We are constantly reviewing our pay policies to ensure they are in line with industry best practice and as well as base salary, Harrods employees receive generous overtime, 100% service charge (minus a minor admin fee) and benefits package.”

Harrods cut jobs last summer after the chief executive, Michael Ward, said a slump in tourist numbers and the need for social distancing was having “a huge impact on our ability to trade”.

A note in the company’s accounts published this week said the Covid pandemic had been a “significant challenge” for the business, which had put the majority of staff on furlough during the enforced store closures. However, there was a rise in online sales over the period...