The official newspaper of Leeds University
www.thegryphon.co.uk Twitter: @TheGryphonLeeds Instagram: @thegryphon Issue 3 01/11/19
Fruity’s Plastic is Not Fantastic New statistics revealed by The Gryphon shows Fruity produces large quantities of plastic despite the Union’s pledge to go single-use plastic-free by 2023 Page 5
Image: Ed Barnes
LUU Co-op Staff Expose Issues At Work
Employees at Union supermarket reveal ban on drinking water and other issues relating to work. “There’s a lack of honesty and communication in general”, one employee tells us Amelia Cutting News Editor It has recently come to light that staff at the University Union Co-op shop have been told they are not allowed to drink water during shifts. One employee said that the staff have been told they are not allowed to drink during shift hours, and that their bottles had to be put away- a message that was passed to them from management. As a result of this, this particular employee didn’t have a drink for two hours during one shift last week. They have been told that they can keep drinks in the stockroom, but not out on the shop floor where they are working. Because of this, they are having to find other members of staff to cover them whilst they go to get a drink of water.
It has been noted that though staff can keep water in the stockroom, and drink it in there, during a busy shift it is often unlikely that employees will get a chance to go and have a quick drink whilst working. These shifts can be anywhere between 3 and 6 hours without a break, and therefore without easy access to water. Additionally, those employees that are based in either of the other two retail outlets - Gear and the Union Shop - are further away from the stockroom of the Co-op, and therefore it is even harder for them to access their drinks during a shift. One employee said that not being able to have a water bottle with you during working hours is “incredibly problematic for being in the Union or Gear shop as you can’t leave the floor to go and get water”.
Frustration is also felt over the lack of communication between workers and employers, not just over not being able to drink water, but also because most of the staff are contracted 12 hours a week, and this is the minimum they are supposed to work, yet they don’t always have the opportunity to work these hours. Should a situation arise where a staff member hasn’t been given their contracted hours, and therefore they don’t work the 12 they are meant to within one week, they should be paid for 12 hours regardless. One worker said that not everyone will get the hours they are supposed to work each week, but others do, saying that “there is no consistency in how things are run, and so that’s really why there are so many problems”. Story continues on page 6.
Being a Disabled Student Features interviews two students about their experience at University and how their disability has influenced this Page 10
Ready for another Gap-Yah? Business interviews a student about their placement at the world’s largest independent investment bank, Lazard Page 19
Is It Even a Real Sport? Sport challenge critics who claim that E-sports, the new craze of computer sporting events, is not a ‘real sport’. Page 24