At yesterday’s surprise protest at the Royal College of Music, our President, Henry Chango Lopez, came face-to-face with Richard Wistreich, one of the Directors of the College. Faced with his platitudes, Henry made it clear to him that our threat to strike is the result of a lack of communication from RCM – and gave him a lecture on how an educational institution should behave towards its workers! You can watch the exchange on our Facebook pages by follwing the link below:
Author: Matt
Manager @sasspace // Research Assistant @ruthfirstpapers // tweets @thethirdestate + @londoncritical
After our members at the Royal College of Music raised concerns about Tenon FM’s plan to slash cleaners’ hours, we tried to raise the issue with RCM managers.
We’ve been disappointed by the lack of response, and so we’ve issued Tenon FM with notice that we’re balloting for strike action. We expect the ballot to open on 2 November.
If you’ve got any questions about this, please get in touch with Danny.
We’ve sent Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Adrian Smith a petition from UoL and NHS staff calling for colleagues to be brought in-house – it got an amazing 556 signatures in just a few weeks! The text of our letter is below:
Dear Sir Adrian
Please find attached 556 signatures from University of London and NHS staff calling for their outsourced colleagues to be brought in-house.
These were collected in just a couple of weeks – obviously more staff would have signed, but there’s only so much time even we can spend collecting signatures!
There is an overwhelming consensus that we want to be ONE University, and to end this unfair two-tier system.
Once again we call on you to announce that these staff will be brought in-house with immediate effect, and fully consulted over the process by which this happens.
Best wishes
Danny
We’re also going to be outside Senate House every day this week flyering and raising awareness for the campaign with workers’ stories – come and join us between 12-2pm or 4:45-6pm at the Russell Square entrance!
Come support our community picket/information stalls next week at Senate House
Come support University of London outsourced workers next week at our community pickets and information stalls outside Senate House (23-27 October).
Workers will be there to tell their stories, as they hand out flyers that reveal the cruel and discriminatory practices that are common for outsourced workers.
And for the peckish there will coffee and biscuits!
We will be outside Senate house between 12:00 and 14:00 and between 16:45 and 18:00.
Danny writes:
At the University of London All Staff Meeting, the review of outsourced staff was discussed at length. They will be looking at everything including pay and terms and conditions.
This is obviously great news, and the University anticipate a report in December – but there is no reason why they can’t issue a general guarantee before then that all staff will be in-house by a certain date.
This has obviously come about as a consequence of the campaign pressure thus far – so it is vital that at this crucial period we keep up the momentum!
This week we have been asking all directly employed staff to sign a petition asking for their colleagues to be brought in-house – the response so far has been FANTASTIC! We have hundreds of signatures and everyone has been very supportive.
If you have not yet signed, or would like a petition sheet to take around yourself, speak to the guys on Stewart House reception or email Danny (dannymillum@iwgb.org.uk).
IWGB has written to RCM on behalf of members who are deeply concerned about plans by the College, and Tenon FM, to cut cleaners’ hours in half. The text of the letter is below – If you’ve got any questions or concerns, get in touch with Danny.
Dear Professor Lawson
I am writing on behalf of IWGB members who work as cleaners at the RCM and have recently transferred via TUPE to a new cleaning company, Tenon FM.
When Tenon took over the contract, they immediately and illegally started telling workers that their hours would be changed and reduced. It was only following a challenge from the IWGB that they paused this process.
However in the last week these workers have been called in for 1-1 ‘consultations’ and told that the original proposals will now be implemented.
These proposals are unbelievably ridiculous and draconian – each employee’s work will be halved AND their hours will be changed (which is disastrous for many workers as these new hours clash with other jobs).
Tenon claim that these proposals have originated from the RCM, hence we are writing to you directly.
These are employees of long-standing, who have faithfully served the College for more than 5 years in many cases, and who are already underpaid, in that they work unsociable hours for no additional recompense.
The Royal College of Music’s most recent accounts state that it made a surplus of £2.3m – so there is no financial justification whatsoever for these changes, which will reduce the hours and income of these already low-paid vulnerable night workers by 50% and force through a change of hours which will further adversely affect them.
Unless we receive confirmation by Thursday 19 October that these plans are being abandoned, the IWGB will immediately:
- ballot our members for industrial action
- commence a campaign to publicise the Royal College of Music’s Actions via leafletting, protests, social media, press, television and radio (see our website for our previous such campaigns)
- take the appropriate legal action against Tenon and the RCM
Can you also confirm how this decision was taken, whether other workers will be involved, and who else will be affected?
Rest assured – unless this process is halted, the RCM will suffer massive and deserved reputational damage and its treatment of its most vulnerable workers will be brought to the attention of stakeholders, students, staff and potential donors.
Best wishes
Danny Millum
Branch Secretary
University of London IWGB
We’ve got a new YouTube channel – you can subscribe here to see all the latest videos we’ve made, or you can spend the day profitably watching them all back! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYkcXSdgs8xDeTxLfU1rNtg
‘Until Victory’ – Migrant workers’ organising in the meat industry in Italy, 2016/17
An IWW London / AngryWorkers film screening
This new documentary is about the struggle of workers in the meat industry in Modena, Italy, in the winter of 2016/17. The workers are organised in the rank-and-file union SI Cobas. The material was filmed almost exclusively by workers and supporters themselves with their smartphones. It gives an impression of the physical violence and brutality perpetrated against the workers and their dedication to fight for a better life..
We want to use the opportunity of the film screening to discuss lessons for our organising initiative in warehouses and food factories in west London. If you want to find out more about this and/or if you want to get involved – join us for the film here:
Tuesday, 31st of October, 6:30pm
MayDay Rooms
We’ve had a nice write-up in Prospect Magazine – (a subscription is required to read the full piece!)
Rebooting the rank and file: why there’s still hope for the unions
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/rebooting-the-rank-and-file-gavin-kelly-trade-unions
Independent Workers Union of Great Britain - Universities of London Branch 