Apple Store in Glasgow Makes History as First UK Store to Unionize

Apple's retail store in Glasgow, Scotland, has become the first UK store to officially vote in favor of forming a union.

apple glasgow
Staff at the Glasgow store had been eyeing unionization for some time and comes amid continued concerns for some employees over pay and working conditions. Staff at the Glasgow store are now set to use their unionization to push for higher hourly pay.

In response to the vote, Apple told The Herald it is "one of the highest paying retailers in Scotland" and it "regularly made enhancements to our industry-leading benefits as a part of the overall support we provide to our valued team members."

Apple has been attempting to ease concerns from retail staff over the last several months, encouraging store managers to be more open and direct with staff over their concerns and promising action to address them.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design Draws Criticism From Users

Wednesday September 17, 2025 2:56 pm PDT by
It's been two days since iOS 26 was released, and Apple's new Liquid Glass design is even more divisive than expected. Any major design change can create controversy as people get used to the new look, but the MacRumors forums, Reddit, Apple Support Communities, and social media sites seem to feature more criticism than praise as people discuss the update. Complaints There are a long...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Coming Soon, Likely With iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Fix

Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

Apple's Rumored MacBook Pro Redesign: 6 New Features Anticipated

Wednesday September 17, 2025 4:26 am PDT by
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the ‌MacBook Pro‌ is now several years away, think again. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4: Here Are 5 New Features to Expect on Your iPhone

Tuesday September 16, 2025 11:17 am PDT by
iOS 26 was finally released on Monday, but the software train never stops, and the first developer beta of iOS 26.1 will likely be released soon. iOS 18.1 was an anomaly, as the first developer beta of that version was released in late July last year, to allow for early testing of Apple Intelligence features. The first betas of iOS 15.1, iOS 16.1, and iOS 17.1 were all released in the second ...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Reportedly Plans to Launch These 10 Products in 'Coming Months'

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19. As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...

Top Rated Comments

BootsWalking Avatar
38 months ago

How much is enough? Should a sales grunt make a million a year?
A million? Nah. Enough to actually feed and house yourself? Yes.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marbles1 Avatar
38 months ago
Glad to hear. Always good for lower paid workers doing mass market jobs like retail to keep their employers on their toes.

Apple make insane profits. They can afford to pay their staff more.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
38 months ago

In response to the vote, Apple told The Herald ('https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/23094915.scottish-apple-store-staff-become-first-uk-unionise/') it is "one of the highest paying retailers in Scotland" and it "regularly made enhancements to our industry-leading benefits as a part of the overall support we provide to our valued team members."
Wrong answer Apple. The right thing to say at this moment is "we respect their decision and we will begin negotiations for a labor contract."
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Freida Avatar
38 months ago
Have you ever worked in retail especially in UK? You live from paycheck to paycheck and you pray that you don't have any emergency expenses (like broken something).
You also usually have to do flat share as UK is very expensive so until people have living wage then there is always need to have higher salaries especially when the company is so rich. These people work hard and should have reasonable balance.


How much is enough? Should a sales grunt make a million a year?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
38 months ago
Apple has to stop hiding behind these hollow ethos about making the world a better place. Its just a veneer on a culture that I suspect internally is very toxic. The cracks show when you have that procurement executive who made that silly comment and got canned. If it wasn't caught on video, you think Apple would have fired him? Apple at the end of the day is a big old stinking business and its in service to its shareholders, first and foremost. Don't forget that. Its just that they happen to make really great products.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ILoveCalvinCool Avatar
38 months ago
Great news. Hope it spreads company-wide.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)