Unite supports pub beer supply investigation

14th May 2009, 11:00am

Unite, the union, has welcomed the report by The Business and Enterprise Select Committee into the beer tie model.

The report calls for an urgent Competition Commission investigation into the beer tie saying the existing system forces tenants to buy beer at inflated prices.

Unite, who said it represents the UK's 10,000 pub licensees in the trade, claims that the British pub is in grave danger because of the behaviour of the Pubco's specialist pub management companies.

Unite believes tenants' earnings are being destroyed by the use of the Pub tie (under which the Pubcos set the rents as well as exclusive rights to supply beer) to overcharge tenants on the price of beer and on rent. Unite says this is leading to more and more pubs closing in the UK.

Jennie Formby, Unite national officer for the food, drink and tobacco sector, said: "We agree that rather than being scrapped as some other groups have suggested, the beer tie, which our members have told us is more like a noose, needs to be renegotiated.

"Fairer rents, more reasonable pricing of beer and the ability to buy beers from other sources such as local micro-breweries are all needed.

"We welcome the main findings of the committee and trust they will be acted upon immediately as with the rate of pub closures we are experiencing, there is no time to waste. The current situation is clearly unsustainable and our members are desperate for change.

"This is a good start and we continue to work actively with others both within the industry and in government to develop meaningful and lasting solutions to the current crisis."

Related Articles:

• 04 Jan 2010 - Pubco tied tenants will ballot for strike action in 2010
• 28 May 2009 - 'Pubcos profit margin nine times more than Tesco'
• 20 May 2009 - Unite and Fair Pint team up
• 13 May 2009 - MPs call for inquiry into 'beer tie' activity
• 29 Apr 2009 - Punch Taverns offloads pubs worth £91m
• 28 Apr 2009 - Beer sales continue to slide
• 22 Apr 2009 - Industry react angrily to the Budget
• 21 Apr 2009 - 'We have 48 hours to save the pub industry'
• 20 Apr 2009 - 90% of public want taxes reduced or frozen in Budget
• 18 Apr 2009 - Chancellor counts cost of £242 million tax loss from pub closures
• 15 Apr 2009 - MPS oppose beer tax rise
• 08 Apr 2009 - Tax rises will result in pub job losses
• 26 Sep 2008 - FSB calls for beer ties to be scrapped

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