A popular vegan cafe and concert venue in the heart of Glasgow’s Merchant City has accused a union of ‘sabotaging’ its business after announcing it is to close with the loss of 18 jobs.

The 13th Note’s owner said the bar and cafe have shut its doors for the last time, with liquidators being called after more than two decades.

The venue has been embroiled in a bitter row with the Unite union over health and safety issues and a pay dispute, with workers walking out on strike at the weekend.

Owner Jacqueline Fennessy claimed the venue had been "driven to insolvency" by Unite Hospitality, which organised the strike and industrial action. 

The union said on social media that the announcement had come on the day the two sides were due to meet with conciliation service Acas.

"This is trade union intimidation," Unite Hospitality tweeted. 

Ms Fennessy said she was “devastated” to close the 13th Note, which ahd been struggling due to spiraling costs and the challenges of recovering from the pandemic.

However, she said the final factor was the Unite Union's “onslaught on social media and the wider press with false and misleading stories” which had made the business untenable.  

READ MORE: 13th Note Glasgow ordered to close over health issues

Staff at the 13th Note staged a 48-hour walkout from Friday until Sunday over what Unite claimed was a failure of the owners to deal with concerns over pay and health and safety.

Industrial action coincided with the busy Glasgow Fair public holiday over the weekend, with workers planning to take action every weekend until August 6.

Unite represents 95% of the workers employed at the venue, with 100% of members voting to support strike action.

Members of Unite Hospitality had handed a collective grievance motion to the owners of the business in March, raising issues such as zero hour contracts.

The venue was also closed briefly over health and safety issues when mouse droppings were discovered by environmental inspectors.

But the venue is now to shut its doors for good with staff being let go.

Ms Fennessy said: “It is with deep sadness that today we have been forced to close the doors of the 13th Note and appoint liquidators following operating the venue successfully for 21 years.

“Over more than two decades, we’ve played host to thousands of bands, performers, promoters and artists, while playing a significant role in the vibrant cultural scene of Glasgow. 

“I’m devastated with the closure of a business I’ve cherished and loved along with the hundreds of loyal customers who frequented the Note, and I would like to thank everyone who has played a role in creating what was a vibrant Glasgow institution. It has been an honour to have been a part of your lives.”

Ms Fennessy laid the blame for the decision squarely at the doorstep of the Unite Union, saying: “it has been the involvement of Unite Hospitality that has caused a drastic reduction in revenue that has forced our closure and the loss of all jobs at the 13th Note.

“To my team, I tried my very best to resolve all the issues we (and other hospitality businesses) face. Thank you all sincerely for all your work and efforts over the years.

“Since March of this year, Unite Hospitality has sabotaged our business with a repeated onslaught on social media and the wider press with false and misleading stories that have been published unchecked. This has led to weekly revenue declining steadily over this period.”

READ MORE: Glasgow bar staff strike ‘first in Scotland in 20 years’

She added: “Despite direct talks with Unite Hospitality about the 13th Note being in crisis and all jobs being at risk as recently as 5th of July, they continued publishing untruths and went ahead with strike action which has fully depleted all available funds in the business.  

“Why an organisation designed to protect the welfare of hospitality employees would choose to sabotage its own members’ jobs with full knowledge of the impact their action would have, I will never know. 

“Every business encounters challenges, but any issues raised were rectified quickly and the team treated with integrity, respect and an honest desire to make their working lives better. The statements of serious health and safety issues were simply not true. 

“With the business driven to insolvency by Unite Hospitality, it is time for the 13th Note to sadly close its doors for the last time.” 


Bryan Simpson, Lead Organiser, Unite Hospitality, said: "To close a workplace and sack more than 20 workers days after they take historic strike action is trade union intimidation pure and simple. To sack them with only a weeks wages and less than 30 days notice is also unlawful.

"Jacqueline Fennessy made a firm commitment to Unite and her workforce that she would postpone any redundancies until we’d at least had a chance to meet via ACAS to resolve the issue, a meeting that she called for.

"This employer didn’t even have the decency to tell some of her workers that they were being made redundant before she briefed the press with a smear campaign aimed at discrediting the workers who have made her profits over the years."

He added: "The workers of 13th Note made this venue and we will do everything we can to ensure that this continues.”