What are UCL and Sodexo’s plans?

In August 2025, UCL and Sodexo announced plans to make dramatic cuts to cleaning services at UCL and across students’ halls of residence. UCL say that these redundancies are part of a modernisation and cost-cutting agenda. At the same time, the university is in a very strong financial position, with student numbers up from 38,000 in 2015/16 to 52,000 last year.

These changes come after cleaners have reported long standing issues with overwork, unsafe conditions and precarious contracts. Some of the impacts will be:

  • Over a hundred cleaners will lose their jobs. Sodexo have proposed to cut 143 full-time equivalent (FTE) cleaners from the main campus team and 52 FTE from the halls of residence cleaning team. Campus cleaners on casual contracts will not receive any redundancy pay. Outsourced cleaning staff at UCL are disproportionately Black, Latinx and migrant women who already endure precarious circumstances to support themselves and their families.
  • Those who keep their jobs will be further overworked. Understaffing and overwork are already serious issues for cleaners, who struggle to safely complete their tasks at current team sizes. Workloads will not change even as the number of FTE cleaners is slashed.
  • Campus and halls will be less clean. UCL reports that in a recent Estates Services Satisfaction Survey, “only 22% of users were very satisfied with cleanliness.” In their proposal, however, Sodexo have explicitly stated that they will “reduce the frequency of core cleaning” by “removing unnecessary daily visits”. Cleaners will be told to “only clean clear surfaces and NOT to remove cups/rubbish/food etc,” and other staff will be told to ensure a “clear desk” where “all papers, objects & rubbish removed daily.”
  • Sodexo and UCL profit at students’ and workers’ expense. While the number of maintenance tickets submitted in halls of residence hit a record high last year (including 223 reports of mould), UCL made a surplus of £13 million on housing provision. Budget cuts to cleaning and annual increases in student fees and rent are lining UCL and Sodexo’s pockets, not saving students.
  • Cleaners made redundant will probably be replaced by agency staff. These workers will be on even worse terms and conditions than Sodexo employees, just like what has happened with the security team since the 2023 restructure.

What action are cleaners taking?

IWGB members and other outsourced cleaners are fighting these cuts directly. This includes:

  • A protest against cuts outside the Sodexo consultation on 27 August
  • A protest at the Sodexo offices on 15 September, after cleaners were dismissed two hours into what was supposed to be a two-day deep clean at UCL halls of residence.
  • A vote to strike, which passed with 97.98% approval from members.
  • Three days of strike action on 29 September, 30 September and 1 October. On these days, cleaners picketed at five sites from 5am before heading to protest outside halls and around UCL campus to make their voices heard.
  • A massive protest on 1 October where striking workers, students and staff came together to demand justice for cleaners during the busiest week in the academic year.
  • An additional day of strike action on Thursday 23 October!

Since building energy and support on the first three days of strike, our members have voted to take further industrial action, and will be striking again on Thursday 23 October. On this strike day, cleaners will not show up to work, form a picket line and protest, making it clear to the whole UCL community that the university cannot function without them.

The overflowing bins and messy around campus that you will see on strike days is just a taste of what the university will look like if UCL and Sodexo are allowed to go ahead with slashing cleaning services.

Staff and students must stand with striking workers and demand a stop to the cuts!

What can you do to support the cleaners?

Students, directly employed staff and supporters can all contribute to putting pressure on UCL to stop the redundancies and put an end to outsourcing on campus. Some examples are:

  1. Join the picket line! Stand with striking workers
    • Malet St Gates (WC1 6BT)
    • 4:30 am – 9 am
    • Thursday 23 October
  2. Join the solidarity protest! Make some noise with cleaners, students, staff and neighbours as we demand that UCL stops the cuts and puts an end to outsourcing on campus.
    • Malet St Gates (WC1 6BT)
    • From 12:30 pm
    • Thursday 23 October
  3. Report a mess on campus! UCL staff and students can use the MyCampus platform to report blocked toilets, overflowing bins and filthy kitchens that appear as cleaning services are chopped. Don’t forget to mention that cuts to cleaners will make campus more disgusting!
  4. Donate to our fighting fund so that cleaners can take strike action to protect their jobs.
  5. Report unclean campus conditions via the MyCampus platform (available to UCL students and staff) – and don’t forget to mention how cuts to cleaners will make things worse!
  6. Share information via our website, flyers or social media with students, friends and colleagues at UCL. You can also write to your Head of Department / Building Manager to raise your concerns.
  7. Organise a petition in your building or department by getting in touch with uolsec@iwgb.co.uk.
  8. Send and email to the Provost using our template.
  9. Become a supporter of IWGB.

If you are a student and would like to get involved in organising on campus to support the cleaners, join the WhatsApp group.

In the meantime, you can follow and share the campaign on Instagram (@iwgb_universities) and X (@IWGBUoL)