At UCL’s Institute of Education (IoE), workplace representative Carvalho and IWGB organiser Laura represented the building’s over thirty outsourced cleaners and porters in a collective grievance hearing that lasted for around three hours.

At issue were excessive increases in workload, unpaid overtime, lack of opportunities for paid overtime, and the absence of privacy and spaces to eat and get changed.

As a result of the hearing, passionately argued by Carvalho and Laura, management has agreed to conduct an investigation into the workload of each cleaner, porter and supervisor at IoE, including possible breaches of health and safety and racial discrimination regulations.

What’s clear is that conditions at IoE – and indeed across UCL – need to change, and fast. This is being achieved by the solidarity and community developing between these workers and the IWGB, leading to increased confidence to take on and hold to account UCL and outsourcing company Sodexo.

Well done to Carvalho and everyone else who worked together on this case! Hasta la Victoria!