Aim

Workers at Obsidian & Echo Body Piercing (Belfast) have walked of an unsafe workplace - we are raising funds to cover loss of earnings.

On Saturday 7th March workers at Obsidian and Echo Body Piercing Studios, all members of Organise! - IWA, walked out of an unsafe work environment.

This crowdfunder is to ensure minimal loss of pay while they are out of work and for as long as they take action to ensure they are no longer Put at Risk, Under Valued and Under Paid by their employer Pamela Wilson.

Their boss and owner of the piercing studios Pamela Wilson had refused to move on union recognition and demands from workers that included issues around unvaccinated workers being made to carry out fittings and piercings. Anyone exposed to bodily fluids and blood as part of their work must be vaccinated against Hepatitis B. Only one worker has been provided with a full course of immunisations.

When customers declared that they had HIV or Hepatitis B employees were put under pressure to do piercings and fittings regardless - “just double up your latex gloves” they were told!

Pamela and her management have been given numerous opportunities to meet with their employees to resolve issues but instead they chose to ignore their workers and put them in danger despite claiming to be a “family” that values everyone equally (of course managers in both of Pamela’s shops are immunised).

Issues were first officially raised by the workers through their Union when a demand letter was handed to management on Saturday 31st January. Workers refuse to subject themselves to risk of disease for a minute longer.

The Demands

Employees at Echo and Obsidian Body Piercers in Belfast have unionised with Organise!-IWA in order to negotiate with their employer and improve their working conditions.

On 31st of January 2026 a demand letter was handed into management at Echo and Obsidian. Issues to be addressed include:

Unclear job roles/contracts, unfulfilled apprentice training and inconsistent application of disciplinary procedures.

Health and Safety - concerns around lone working must be addressed. Necessary courses of vaccinations for workers exposed to blood must be completed - most employees had received only two out of three vaccination doses for Hep B before they were discontinued (the course should be followed up with a booster in due course).

Breaks - employees regularly work over the duration of their 6 hour shifts without a break - in direct contravention of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016, workers are legally entitled to an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes if their daily working time is more than six hours .

Payslips - payslips should be properly itemised so staff can clearly see what bonus payments relate to.

Rotas - A fair and transparent system of scheduling staff is required.

Pay Rise - End of individually negotiated pay shop floor employees and apprentices to be paid the Real Living Wage of £13.45 per hour. Qualified Piercers to be paid £17.00 an hour.

Management have not responded to concerns around lone working - an individual employee was approached and offered £1.50 per hour extra to work on her own.

The employer has claimed that employees need to follow separate grievance procedures based on the shop they are employed by - it is clearly not the case that they work for two separate companies. This was acknowledged by the ‘independent’ HR company they have hired. These are employees of the same company working across two shops with interchangeable shifts.

In relation to incomplete vaccinations the employer has attempted to shift the onus for organising the remaining stages of their vaccinations onto their employees. Employers are legally required under COSHH Regulations to pay for and arrange Hepatitis B vaccinations for staff at risk of exposure. Shifting this onus onto employees is a breach of safety duties. Incomplete vacinations has put workers at risk of infection with Hepatitis B and HIV - we have walked out as we do not have a safe working environment.

Immunisation against Hepatitis B is required for all workers who have increased exposure due to Occupational Risk.

It is essential for employees of piercing studios who work with exposure to blood and bodily fluids i.e. piercers and jewellery fitters.

Immunisation protects against a virus that has severe consequences and which is a major global cause of death. It protects against acute infection (severe illness) and chronic infection (long-term liver inflammation), which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Immunisation gives long-term protection that lasts decades - if the full course of injections is provided.

Hepatitis B has a High Transmission Risk: the virus spreads easily through contact with infected blood, semen, and vaginal fluids (e.g., needles, sex, birth). Babies born to infected mothers require immediate vaccination.

Chronic Hepatitis B significantly increases the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer).

Asymptomatic Spread: Many people with chronic Hepatitis B are unaware they are infected but can still pass the virus to others.

The owner of Obsidain and Echo refuses to talk to her Employees and Their Union.

The last request for a meeting to come to some resolution of issues was ignored and instead Pamela Wilson posted an advertisement for a piercers jobs paying "up to £20 per hour" - above what what her current employees asked for in an entirely reasonable pay claim. Her current workers need not apply.

Pamela is claiming Obsidian and Echo are a "workplace family" - a favoured tactic of anti-union employers. Lets be clear - instead of talking to her employees Pamela is Union Busting, endangering her employees, who she wants to keep undervalued and underpaid.

WEEK BY WEEK WE NEED TO COVER APPROXIMATELY £1,200 TO OFFSET LOSS OF EARNINGS FOR AS LONG AS THIS DISPUTE TAKES.

SOLIDARITY IS STRENGTH.

Employees at Obsidian and Echo have been overwhelmed by the solidarity and support shown from the working class in Belfast, from the workers in the piercing industry in the city and from workers and their organisations internationally.

DONATE TODAY - HELP THEM WIN THIS STRUGGLE.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-obsidian-echo-piercing-studio-workers