E5 Bakehouse workers win landmark union recognition

Monday 13 October: Workers at E5 Bakehouse have won a landmark union recognition agreement with their employer - the first of its kind at one of London’s independent artisan bakeries.

E5 Bakehouse runs an acclaimed sourdough bakery, café, and baking school with sites in Hackney, Poplar, and at the V&A East Storehouse, employing more than 100 staff. Known for its commitment to sustainability and local sourcing, E5 is part of a wave of London bakeries that rose to popularity alongside others including The Dusty Knuckle and Toad. It is now the first among them to formally recognise a union, setting a precedent for the wider baking and hospitality industry.

The recognition agreement follows over a year of worker-led organising which saw staff across all departments, including bakers, baristas, couriers, café staff, chefs, and kitchen porters, meeting regularly to share experiences, build solidarity, and improve conditions. Represented by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), workers now have a formal route to negotiate pay, hours, and working conditions.

The IWGB has already supported E5 workers to achieve several wins, including:

• full pay for staff who lost shifts during an unplanned safety and maintenance closure,
• greater transparency in the company’s pension scheme to ensure ethical investments, and
• the donation of all bread sale profits on the 4th of November to a charity in Gaza.

Issy Arnold, baker at E5 Bakehouse and member of the E5 Bakehouse union, said: “Workers in bakeries, cafés, and restaurants might think unions aren’t for them - we hope our landmark recognition agreement proves otherwise. All too often hospitality workers are made to feel like we are entirely dispensable and therefore have no real power to stand up for ourselves, but at E5 we’ve built a strong union that’s already delivered real, material wins. We hope this sparks a wave of organising that shakes up our sector and sees workers finally valued and respected for what we do. We encourage any hospitality workers reading this to get in touch with us for support to start organising in your own workplace! Email us at e5workersunite@gmail.com.”

Mabel Ki, baker at E5 Bakehouse and member of the E5 Bakehouse union, said: “True sustainability begins with the people who make it possible. Running an ethical business is as much about how you treat your workers as where you source your ingredients. By unionising, we’re making sure E5 practices genuine sustainability across all dimensions - social, environmental, and economic. Not just because we care about each other but because we care about working somewhere that has a positive impact.”

Henry Chango Lopez, General Secretary of the IWGB Union, said: “Organising in the hospitality industry is notoriously difficult but these workers at E5 have overcome every obstacle in their way to build a powerful union that is already winning change. This agreement sets  the standard for London bakeries, cafes and restaurants, forging a path forward we hope others will now follow.”

ENDS
For more information please contact press@iwgb.co.uk or Ellie Butcher on 07883 887613 or elliebutcher@iwgb.co.uk. Interviews available on request.