THE Ivy House pub was still locked up and shut down after an unofficial strike by its bar staff ran into its second day today.

Workers at the pub in Nunhead, south-east London, closed shop at the beginning of their Sunday shift.

The employees, who are members of the Bakers, Food, and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU), are on strike over allegations that four workers have been politically victimised for trying to unionise their workplace.

A request from the workers for the pub’s management committee to recognise the union was ignored and the workers were subsequently sacked.

The decision to sack the staff was made independently of the shareholders that the Ivy House – London’s first co-operatively owned “community pub” – is supposed to represent.

Following yesterday’s strike, the Star understands that two separate attempts to negotiate a compromise between staff and employer have failed.

This has led to increasing numbers of stakeholders joining the picket line, waving flags from the BFAWU and Unite, which also organises hospitality workers.

BFAWU representative Tom Holliday told the Star that negotiations between management and workers’ representatives would resume today and it seemed “very likely” that management would concede to the workers’ demands.

Alex Etches, a bartender and Unite activist who joined the picket line, said the strike was an example of “how quickly” his industry is changing.

“This new attitude among service workers is spreading – that we can take strike action and when we do, we can win.”

A statement from the pub said: “We are now working with the staff to resolve [the issue] as soon as possible.”