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14.08.2026 / News / Press releases / BUTLINS

Butlin’s Resort Safety Officers: 100% YES to strike action. Walkouts possible from 24 August in Bognor Regis resort.

• Resort Safety Officers at Butlin’s Bognor Regis have voted unanimously in favour of strike action, escalating their dispute over safety, staffing levels, pay and wage deductions, and working conditions.
• Strike action could begin as early as 24 August and could include the final summer Bank Holiday weekend, potentially disrupting one of the busiest periods of the holiday season. Strike dates to be announced soon.
• Workers, members of United Voices of the World (UVW), say they do not want to strike but are prepared to take action if Butlin’s fails to address their concerns.
• Workers are demanding urgent action on chronic understaffing, faulty equipment and working conditions they say are undermining their ability to keep guests and staff safe, alongside improvements to pay and other working conditions.
• Separately, workers say fire safety concerns raised for more than three years, relating to fire doors and external cladding, only began to be addressed within days of UVW warning that formal complaints could follow.

The workers are responsible for responding to incidents across the resort, including violence and aggression, lost children and medical emergencies. They say chronic understaffing, faulty equipment, lack of paid breaks, what they believe are unlawful wage deductions and poor management are undermining their ability to do their jobs safely and putting unnecessary pressure on staff responsible for protecting guests and colleagues.

The workers say they have repeatedly raised their concerns with management and have given Butlin’s opportunities to address them. They now say the overwhelming ballot result demonstrates the strength of feeling among the Resort Safety Officer team.

The workers say they do not want to strike and would prefer to resolve the dispute through negotiations but believe industrial action may be necessary if Butlin’s does not take meaningful action. The workers want their union, UVW, to be present during talks and to be officially recognised by the company.

At the heart of the dispute are workers’ concerns that the conditions in which they are expected to work are undermining their ability to keep guests and staff safe.

From the outset, management has responded with denials, inadequate attempts at engagement and claims that it was unaware of concerns they had repeatedly raised and documented. Only after workers organised and brought in their union, UVW, has management begun making belated attempts to address some of these issues, including payment of wrongly deducted wages, although these attempts have themselves been deficient.

Separately, workers say they raised fire safety concerns for more than three years, including poorly maintained fire doors, external cladding they believed posed a fire risk and concerns about the training of some security staff. They say these concerns were raised through thousands of reports but only began to be addressed in early August 2026 after workers unionised and within days of their union, UVW, warning that formal complaints could follow.

Butlin’s is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, having welcomed generations of families to its resorts across the UK.

The company reported £28.3 million in pre-tax profits in 2024, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

Adam, Resort Safety Officer and UVW member, said:

“Every day, we dedicate ourselves fully to our work, consistently going above and beyond to embody the Butlin’s values of creating smiles, getting stuck in, and caring for one another.

However, in recent months, it has become sadly clear that we are not being listened to or adequately supported, particularly when responding to serious incidents.Without this crucial support, our team has found it necessary to stand together and demand the bare minimum: to be safe and respected at work. As our safety concerns have still not been addressed, we have voted to strike. This action is to demonstrate to the resort’s leadership that we will no longer tolerate working conditions that make it harder for us to keep our team and guests safe.”

Isabel Cortés, Assistant General Secretary of United Voices of the World (UVW), said:

“This overwhelming vote is a clear message from Butlin’s Resort Safety Officers. These workers are not taking strike action lightly. They are taking a stand because they believe the conditions they are working under are making it harder for them to keep guests and staff safe. 

A company celebrating nine decades of family holidays should also recognise the workers who make those holidays possible and ensure they have the staffing, equipment and working conditions needed to keep guests safe.

What is particularly striking is what happened when these workers began organising. They had raised fire safety concerns for more than three years, through thousands of reports, yet say they saw little meaningful action. Once they unionised and UVW warned that formal complaints could follow, Butlin’s began addressing those concerns within days.

That is what workers’ organisation can achieve. When workers come together, they have a stronger voice and a greater ability to hold employers to account.

Our members don’t want to strike. They want Butlin’s to listen, negotiate and give them the staffing, equipment and working conditions they need to keep people safe. But if management continues to ignore their concerns, our members have shown overwhelmingly that they are ready to fight for change.”

ABOUT THE DISPUTE:

The workers’ demands include:

• The recruitment of at least five additional permanent Resort Safety Officers
• Reliable and properly maintained equipment
• Changes to management and workplace practices
• Paid nightshift breaks
• Repayment of wages workers say were unlawfully deducted
• A pay rise to £14 an hour
• Voluntary recognition of UVW as their union
• The reinstatement of a colleague workers believe was unfairly dismissed

For further information, contact the UVW communications team:
   

Isabel: 07706 987443 

Cristina: 07548 759340

Email: comms@uvwunion.org.uk    
   

About UVW    

United Voices of the World (UVW) is a grassroots union representing low-paid, and precarious and workers, including security guards, cleaners, concierges, couriers, carers, and hospitality staff. 

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