An incident at the Sfizy Veg vegan pizzeria in Neukölln once again highlights the precarious working conditions in Berlin restaurants. The boss impulsively dismissed two workers on the spot without justification. The service staff at this restaurant face an excessive workload. They work alone, answering the phone and doing the dishes in addition to serving customers. All this while having to deal with a boss who is widely considered to be capricious.
On November 16th, the boss suddenly came into the workplace and claimed that he had called the restaurant repeatedly and that nobody had answered. That said, his associate (the restaurant has two bosses) had told service staff they did not have to answer the phone if they were busy. The boss also said that he had spied on the workers through the windows and claimed that they were not doing their jobs properly. With this as an excuse, he fired the waitress. He then entered the kitchen and threatened to fire other workers if they did not behave. The fired worker was understandably distraught and could not finish her shift. The pizza baker called the boss and asked for instructions because he couldn't do his job without a waitress. The boss came back to the restaurant and fired him as well. The restaurant has built itself a name on being left-wing and vegan; the reality is far off though. The bosses want to talk to you about politics and veganism, but when you claim your rights and practice solidarity, they make threats and fire you. One of the fired workers has been politically active in the past, which might lead one to believe that the boss was so quick to fire him for this reason. We want to reclaim our rights, our honor and our dignity. Unfortunately for the bosses: An injury to one is an injury to all!
If you want to give your solidarity, join the picket !
Saturday 02.01 at 19:00 at Sfizy Veg, Treptower Straße 95, 12059 Berlin
