This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/07/striking-ministry-of-justice-cleaners-migrant-workers-london-living-wage
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| The striking Ministry of Justice cleaners know their worth – all power to them | The striking Ministry of Justice cleaners know their worth – all power to them |
| (2 months later) | |
| Today, many people will reach their offices in the Ministry of Justice, private hospital group HCA Healthcare UK and Kensington and Chelsea council and likely find an unfamiliar scene: the bins will have remained unemptied, surfaces uncleaned and workspaces just as they were left yesterday. Across five sites in London, cleaners are striking for three days. Currently, the mostly migrant workers are paid less than the London living wage of £10.20 an hour, and receive only statutory sick pay, which excludes the first three days of any illness. Their demands are modest but could make all the difference to their daily lives: a pay rise to the living-wage level, parity of terms with in-house staff, and sick pay immediately upon falling ill. | Today, many people will reach their offices in the Ministry of Justice, private hospital group HCA Healthcare UK and Kensington and Chelsea council and likely find an unfamiliar scene: the bins will have remained unemptied, surfaces uncleaned and workspaces just as they were left yesterday. Across five sites in London, cleaners are striking for three days. Currently, the mostly migrant workers are paid less than the London living wage of £10.20 an hour, and receive only statutory sick pay, which excludes the first three days of any illness. Their demands are modest but could make all the difference to their daily lives: a pay rise to the living-wage level, parity of terms with in-house staff, and sick pay immediately upon falling ill. |
| Union membership has fallen sharply in the last few decades, helped along by the Conservatives’ hostile legislation. Low-paid and precarious workers in particular are most often unrepresented by unions. It’s not difficult to see why: modern forms of work make income unpredictable for many people, and with most people in poverty coming from households where someone works, every penny of earnings counts. | Union membership has fallen sharply in the last few decades, helped along by the Conservatives’ hostile legislation. Low-paid and precarious workers in particular are most often unrepresented by unions. It’s not difficult to see why: modern forms of work make income unpredictable for many people, and with most people in poverty coming from households where someone works, every penny of earnings counts. |
| Cleaners to strike in first action by UK’s low-paid ‘army’ | |
| But the union organising the striking cleaners, United Voices of the World, is bucking this trend, with a membership comprised almost entirely of migrant and precarious workers, and some big wins for such a small operation. After 10 months of action, members at the London School of Economics were all offered in-house jobs. Another small union, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, has led successful campaigns against the University of London for outsourced cleaners, and is proceeding apace with legal challenges against Deliveroo and Uber. | But the union organising the striking cleaners, United Voices of the World, is bucking this trend, with a membership comprised almost entirely of migrant and precarious workers, and some big wins for such a small operation. After 10 months of action, members at the London School of Economics were all offered in-house jobs. Another small union, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, has led successful campaigns against the University of London for outsourced cleaners, and is proceeding apace with legal challenges against Deliveroo and Uber. |
| These victories and campaigns are small, but important. Attempting to squeeze fairer pay and conditions from a faceless outsourcing company is intentionally difficult: it will shrug and claim it’s simply supplying labour as a unit; and equally the company enlisting the outsourced labour will argue it has no duty to you as an employer. Deliveroo riders, Uber drivers and cleaners are considered the bottom of the food chain in terms of employment rights, yet an old-fashioned strike eventually engenders panic from workplaces suddenly bereft of cleaners, or tech companies forced to watch their profits diminish every minute they’re short of drivers. | These victories and campaigns are small, but important. Attempting to squeeze fairer pay and conditions from a faceless outsourcing company is intentionally difficult: it will shrug and claim it’s simply supplying labour as a unit; and equally the company enlisting the outsourced labour will argue it has no duty to you as an employer. Deliveroo riders, Uber drivers and cleaners are considered the bottom of the food chain in terms of employment rights, yet an old-fashioned strike eventually engenders panic from workplaces suddenly bereft of cleaners, or tech companies forced to watch their profits diminish every minute they’re short of drivers. |
| The striking workers are risking a lot by standing up for their rights: their employment is insecure anyway, and there is little to stop the companies involved from simply terminating their employment with no compensation whatsoever. They do benefit, however, from support offered by others who use those workplaces – with students and some academics protesting alongside striking cleaners, and many people donating to strike funds. | The striking workers are risking a lot by standing up for their rights: their employment is insecure anyway, and there is little to stop the companies involved from simply terminating their employment with no compensation whatsoever. They do benefit, however, from support offered by others who use those workplaces – with students and some academics protesting alongside striking cleaners, and many people donating to strike funds. |
| Traditional unions are still working for many people, but equally, as the face of work changes and rights are further degraded, newer forms of organising are necessary. Unite’s community membership has helped many unemployed people fight unfair benefit decisions and service closures in their local areas. When the bedroom tax came into force in 2012, several people I spoke to had managed to fight back against possible eviction with the help of Unite Community, and had become involved in local campaigning as a result. They wanted to pay forward the support and advice that had saved their homes. | Traditional unions are still working for many people, but equally, as the face of work changes and rights are further degraded, newer forms of organising are necessary. Unite’s community membership has helped many unemployed people fight unfair benefit decisions and service closures in their local areas. When the bedroom tax came into force in 2012, several people I spoke to had managed to fight back against possible eviction with the help of Unite Community, and had become involved in local campaigning as a result. They wanted to pay forward the support and advice that had saved their homes. |
| The cleaners who won fair wages and a way to belong | Aditya Chakrabortty | |
| These David and Goliath stories buoy the soul at a point when the news cycle is often wall-to-wall misery. But they don’t happen in a vacuum. With support and solidarity, whether financial or through putting pressure on the people responsible for poor conditions, victories such as these are much more likely. Joining a union makes it more powerful and in turn strengthens the rights of all workers. Supporting and publicising the campaigns of smaller unions pressures bosses to accept workers’ demands. To lift the 24 members at the Ministry of Justice out of poverty would cost a mere £48,000 a year: a pittance for the government, but a potentially life-changing sum for the cleaners in a government department. | These David and Goliath stories buoy the soul at a point when the news cycle is often wall-to-wall misery. But they don’t happen in a vacuum. With support and solidarity, whether financial or through putting pressure on the people responsible for poor conditions, victories such as these are much more likely. Joining a union makes it more powerful and in turn strengthens the rights of all workers. Supporting and publicising the campaigns of smaller unions pressures bosses to accept workers’ demands. To lift the 24 members at the Ministry of Justice out of poverty would cost a mere £48,000 a year: a pittance for the government, but a potentially life-changing sum for the cleaners in a government department. |
| Their three-day strike is likely to be the start of more action. The cleaners may be paid very little, but they know the actual value of their work, and that there is only so long their workplaces can continue once that labour has been withheld. More power to them, as they picket offices across the capital. | Their three-day strike is likely to be the start of more action. The cleaners may be paid very little, but they know the actual value of their work, and that there is only so long their workplaces can continue once that labour has been withheld. More power to them, as they picket offices across the capital. |
| • Dawn Foster is a Guardian columnist | • Dawn Foster is a Guardian columnist |
| Living wage | Living wage |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| Trade unions | Trade unions |
| Industrial action | Industrial action |
| Gig economy | Gig economy |
| comment | comment |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |