Late Opening.
Pub Threat To Bar That Late Opening.
The Extra hour's drinking time in Glasgow's pubs may never happen when it becomes law in a month's time.
Hundreds of city pub managers are set to boycott the initial implementation of the new Licensing (Scotland) Act. A crisis meeting of the National Association of Licensed House Managers is taking place in Edinburgh today to discuss the new law which was given the Royal Assent yesterday.
CONFUSED
And a special Times poll of city pubs revealed that few bars will implement the extra hour immediately. And even if the managers decide to work the extra hour there is still no certainty that brewers will open their pubs until 11 o'clock.
Public house managers have already overwhelmingly voted against working the extra hour. Many bar staff were confused about the new law.
Typical was the Rowallan at 71 Main Street, Thornliebank. One of the staff there said, "We have had no approaches either from our union or our bosses Tennent Caledonian. "We don't know what we are doing."
WAIT AND SEE
It was a similar story at the Central Bar in Hope Street. A spokesman said, "The managers will decide whether or not to remain open for the extra hour. "Our main problem will be getting staff home after the finish of work."
At the Kiloran Bar in Eglinton Street one of the staff said, "We don't know anything yet. We will have to wait and see what the bosses are saying."
Mr Charles McLuckie who owns the Springwell Inn in Waterside near Kirkintilloch said, "I have not given the matter much thought. It will be a matter of keeping an eye on other bars to see what they are doing."
A spokesman for the Kiwi Bar at the top of Hope Street said, "We won't be opening for the extra hour. "We don't feel that our customers will want the extra hour. We are situated at the centre of the town and getting home could be a problem."
Russel's Bar in Maryhill Road has also decided. A spokesman said, "We have discussed the matter but we won't be rushing into making a decision. We will wait and see how it works."
However one publican, Mr Frank Lynch, boss of Unicorn Leisure, which own five pubs in the West of Scotland said that all of his bars will remain open until 11 p.m. None of the major brewery companies has yet made a firm decision although talks are taking place.
Spokesmen for Scottish and Newcastle said, "We've already had discussions which pubs will be open and which won't. The discussions are taking place at the moment and the unions are involved in them."
A spokesman for Tennent Caledonian, who run about 600 licensed premises, said, We are hopeful of getting agreement within the next few days about opening for the extra hour.
"we are having discussions with the unions to try and get a policy which would be mutually beneficial.
LOCAL BASIS
"There are a lot of problems to be ironed out." Drybroughs, who run about 100 pubs said, "We are looking at the situation now to decide what pubs could be opened or not. "It will be decided on a local basis."
And Ind Coope said that they too had not decided it they would open all their pubs. A spokesman told us, "We are in favour of more liberal hours but that doesn't mean all our pubs will be open. "We will have to decide which will be opened and which will not.
EXTRA COST
"The whole question of cost will have to be checked out. The unions are being kept involved in our discussions."
The bad news for the drinkers is that if his local stays open he could end up paying for the extra hours drinking. Ind Coope say, "We will keep an eye on the cost of opening. We will have extra overheads like wages, heating, lighting, etc. This will have to be watched.
"In common with other brewers it might be that costs would be adversely affected in the long term."
Today all the pubs in the city stay open as long as they can, it all comes down to profit, the longer you open the more money you make.
End.
