A UNION campaign which resulted in staff at a luxury Loch Lomond hotel being paid £138,000 in tips withheld by their employer has earned praise in the Scottish Parliament.

The Unite campaign, reported upon last month, saw Cameron House agree to hand back cash withheld from around 200 low paid staff since January.

The win follows months of lobbying by Unite after the hotel introduced a 10 per cent service charge at the beginning of the year. It was subsequently revealed that the hotel had retained 15 per cent – totalling £138,000 – of all the service charges it received since January. 

The area’s constituency MSP, Jackie Baillie, has now laid down a motion in the Scottish Parliament congratulating Unite on its efforts – and Ms Baillie’s motion has secured support not only from her Labour colleagues at Holyrood but also from MSPs in the SNP, Conservative and Green ranks.

Ms Baillie’s motion asks “that the Parliament congratulates Unite on securing £138,000 in tips for staff at Cameron House”.

It also asks MSPs to recognise “that the monetary difference to staff will have a huge impact during the current cost of living crisis, and thanks representatives from Unite the Union and its members for their determination in taking action and focusing on improving pay and conditions for staff in the hospitality sector”.

Ms Baillie’s motion was lodged at the Parliament on Thursday, December 1.
Within 24 hours it had attracted support from 12 fellow MSPs – Ms Baillie’s Labour colleague Monica Lennon, a member of Unite; the SNP’s Stephanie Callaghan, Bob Doris, Stuart McMillan, Marie McNair, Collette Stevenson and David Torrance; Conservative members Jeremy Balfour, Miles Briggs and Pam Gosal; and the Scottish Greens’ Ross Greer.