This morning Jason Moyer-Lee, General Secretary of the IWGB, delivered a letter to the Provost of UCL with an ultimatum: bring the outsourced security officers, cleaners and porters in-house by October 7th or face a strong and well-organised campaign by the workers and the union!

Read the letter to the Provost here.

The IWGB represents the majority of security and around 150 cleaners at UCL, and has been building towards a campaign for the past 18 months, holding breakfast stalls, outreach visits to isolated buildings, and working with members to elect reps among the workforce.

The outsourced employees, many of them migrant workers, have endured years of poor management, disrespect, low or missing pay, and exploitation by the third-party companies that employ them – Axis and Sodexo – companies not exactly known for their respect for human rights or the well-being of migrants… 

Now, through the union, these workers are taking a stand and demanding justice. By being brought in house, they will be eligible for the same rights, sick pay, holidays, maternity pay, and pensions as their directly employed colleagues and will be able to hold UCL accountable for any issues they face at work, rather than having to negotiate with faceless third-party companies.

UCL is the behemoth of London unis, the second biggest university in the country and the only remaining major London university not to have committed to ending the outsourcing of its workers. We would not be commencing this battle if we did not feel the workers, the union, and the rest of the university community were ready to win.

We hope that Michael Arthur will be wise enough to agree to this, or at least to enter into negotiations. If not, we will be with the workers every step of their way in their struggle.

If you are interested in being involved in the campaign (we welcome students past and present, members of staff, and anyone else), please leave your details here.