Over the last month many Aramark workers at the University of London have joined the IWGB in order to resolve issues such as zero-hour contracts, sick pay and holidays and bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Following an initial meeting with Aramark’s UK HR Operations Director Adrian Goldacre, the company has already agreed the following

1. Zero-hours contracts

Aramark have promised to look into all zero-hour contracts at the University, and to look to move full-time staff onto permanent contracts.

2. Sick Pay and Holidays

Letters should be going out to all Aramark staff by 1 April offering them improved sick pay and holiday arrangements, including up to 33 days holiday a year, and up to 6 months full sick pay.

3. Bullying and harassment

A guarantee of an investigation into all instances of bullying and harassment within the company, and an assurance that any complaints will be taken seriously without risk of reprisals from management.

4. Union membership

Aramark have stated that all employees are free to associate with a trade union, and that managers need to understand this clearly.

We’re already making great progress, but we need your help to do more. The more members the union has, the stronger we are. If you work for Aramark and want to join the IWGB, please contact Jason Moyer-Lee (JasonMoyer-Lee@iwgb.org.uk or call 07771783094). If you are already a member, please tell your colleagues!

Our next branch meeting will be held on Wednesday 26 February at 1pm in room S16 in the Institute of Education. All members are welcome, and everyone will get a voice and a vote.

Please do get in touch (uol@iwgb.org.uk) if you have anything you would like adding to the agenda.

We’ll be talking about the strikes, the Garden Halls, and the current letter-writing campaign for recognition, and electing reps for areas where we don’t have anyone yet.

The Justice for Cleaners Campaign at SOAS has taken another massive step forward, as their industrial ballot results were declared yesterday. SOAS UNISON represents over 90% of the cleaners working for ISS at SOAS, and 62% responded to the ballot with 100% of them voting YES for strike action!

Lenin Escudero Zarsoza from the campaign said: ‘This is possible the best ever ballot result in the history of British trade unionism. Well done to us! well done to SOAS cleaners! and well done to all of you for your support!!’

Strike dates will be announced in a couple of days.

You can support their campaign by making a donation at https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=RECG3WBP8R33L, or find out more at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-For-Cleaners-SOAS/487787121252241.

The IWGB wrote last week to Aramark, the University of London’s catering contractors, to raise a number of issues, most notably sick pay and holiday entitlements, zero-hours contracts and the London Living Wage.

We have been recruiting heavily among Aramark workers on the contract, and believe it’s now time to move towards formal negotiations with the company in order to resolve these pressing concerns for our members.

Read the full email here

Following last week’s strike, the University of London sent round an internal memorandum on ‘Dignity at Work’, which makes several misleading claims with regard to the IWGB.

The letter below from Branch Chair Henry Chango Lopez, Vice-Chair Sonia Chura and Branch Secretary Jason Moyer-Lee is a response to this, providing full detail of the picket line ‘incident’, the IWGB’s statement re the posters referred to by Mr Frost, and up-to-date information on the ongoing dispute.

Letter to University of London Director of HR