UNION reps at Picturehouse’s Ritzy cinema were wrongly sacked in June last year during their campaign for a London Living Wage, an employment tribunal has ruled.

The unanimous finding revealed yesterday, after the cases were heard by the Employment Tribunal in Croydon in March this year, of unfair dismissal applies to two of three reps.

The third rep was employed for less than two years and was unable to bring this claim, according to entertainment union Bectu.

But the tribunal ruled against the three reps’ claim that their dismissals were automatically unfair due to employer’s victimisation over trade union activities.

A third complaint of detriment due to suspension was unanimously dismissed by the tribunal panel.

The issues which triggered the dismissals concern an email sent last April to all Bectu members at the Ritzy summing up discussions at an earlier union meeting.

The email included the statement “we are also going to start pushing cyber-pickets.”

Cyber-picketing is potentially unlawful and union officials, once aware of the email, advised members of the serious nature of such activity should it be undertaken — according to Bectu.

The charge pursued by bosses through the disciplinary procedure was that reps had failed to alert them to the email and to take any steps to prevent such activity.

They also accused reps of not being open or transparent up to the point of dishonesty during the investigation, the union added.

Bectu head Gerry Morrissey said: “The judgment is clear that Picturehouse management showed a lack of neutrality and assumed the guilt of our representatives.

“We are very disappointed, however, by the tribunal’s finding that our representatives’ trade union activity was not central to Picturehouse’s decision to dismiss.

“We find this hard to accept given the leading role which Ritzy representatives have played in our long-running dispute with the company.

“We believe that the company took advantage of the circumstances to dismiss Bectu activists.”

A leading rep from the Picturehouse workers said: “If anyone should be fired for dishonesty it is Picturehouse and Cineworld bosses.

“It’s now proven by the tribunal that they were biased from the beginning.

“Since the sackings last year many striking sites have been chronically understaffed which puts huge strain on remaining staff members.”

Six Ritzy reps were investigated in a process which led to the three dismissals. A fourth rep was later sacked and their tribunal hearing is pending.

A date for a further hearing to determine compensation due to the two reps has yet to be agreed.