Breaking news! The IWGB has been contacted by the conciliation service ACAS on behalf of Cordant, who have enquired about the possibility of opening negotations over the security officers pay dispute.
General Secretary Jason Moyer-Lee stated that the IWGB welcomed negotiations, as long as Cordant ‘brought their cheque book’.
Watch this space!
IWGB today notified Cordant that the union will be balloting its security officer members for strike action. Below is the press release:
University of London Security officers could go on strike shortly, as their union has today given notice of ballot for industrial action.
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is demanding an end to zero-hour contracts, proper itemised payslips, and a 25% increase in pay for all security officers, increasing the salary of the lowest paid officer to around £12 an hour.
While the pay of other workers at the university has increased in recent years that of security officers has stagnated, breaking a commitment the University had made in 2011 to maintain pay differentials between different types of workers.
Cordant, the company that has the contract for the provision of security officers in the University of London’s central administration buildings, has so far been unwilling to negotiate with the IWGB on the matter of pay.
The union invites Cordant to return to the negotiating table to avoid causing disruption to the lives of the students, the security officers and other staff.
The IWGB is confident members will vote in favour of strike action.
“We are determined to take industrial action, which has been caused by the university and Cordant breaking their promise,” says University of London security officer and IWGB representative Abdul Bakhsh “We do not want to disrupt the lives of students, who we are here to help, but we feel we cannot do our job properly if the University doesn’t keep its promises.”
The strike would affect the vast majority of the around 50 security officers that look after Senate House, Stewart House, the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, Student Central (formerly University of London Student Union), the Warburg Institute and five halls of residence: Nutford House, Lilian Penson, Connaught Hall, College Hall and International Hall.
The IWGB is a campaigning union, which has waged a number of high profile campaigns such as for the London Living Wage at the Royal Opera House and at John Lewis, and the 3 Cosas Campaign (sick pay, holidays, and pensions) at the University of London. Other campaigns have been waged over bullying and harassment as well as improved pay for university employees (London Weighting).
For more information:
Dr Jason Moyer-Lee, IWGB General Secretary
Jasonmoyer-lee@iwgb.co.uk
07771783094
One of the reasons that IWGB’s strikes at the University of London have been so successful is that we’re able to get a very high proportion of members out onto the picket line. This is mainly due to the mass support the union enjoys, but our strike fund has been a great help in turning support into participation.
When workers strike they lose pay, so the ability to participate in strike action is often dependent on a worker’s financial situation. The result is that strikes for the lowest paid workers are often poorly attended, despite their need for better conditions being more urgent!
IWGB is proud to have supported members on strike by paying wages from our strike fund, but we need your help to make sure we can do it again. Our security guards have entered into formal dispute with their employer, Cordant, and we’ll be balloting for strike action soon.
We don’t take industrial action lightly, and we hope that Cordant improves the security guards’ pay and enables us to end our dispute. But we will strike if we have to. Our fighting fund is low, and any donations you can offer would greatly help our cause.
Please donate using PayPal – anything you can give will help!
Many more UoL security officers have now joined the IWGB following last week’s meeting over pay, at which the prospect of strike action was raised and wholeheartedly endorsed.
Security officers have seen their pay differentials vastly eroded over the last six years, from nearly two pounds above the UoL minimum in 2011 to just 19 pence in 2017.
IWGB officials and security guard reps are scheduled to meet with bosses from security contractor Cordant on Monday 20 February, and intend to make the following demands:
Please do get in touch with dannymillum@iwgb.org.uk or abdul.bakhsh@outlook.com for more information.
Over the last 5 years, pay increases for security officers at the University of London have fallen behind those of other staff.
In 2012 a security officer could expect to earn nearly two pounds an hour more than a cleaner.
Now the difference in many cases is only 19 pence.
This takes no account of the extra training and qualifications required by security – or of the extra risks that they take to protect the University.
The IWGB is organising a meeting for all security staff to discuss this issue and what we can do about it.
Please contact Abdul Bakhsh at abdul.bakhsh@outlook.com or on 07595950448 and let us know the time that suits you the best.
Members and non-members welcome.
Security officers at the University of London are currently in talks with management over this year’s payrise, which has seen a further erosion of differentials with other staff.
See below for the letter the IWGB sent to Cordant yesterday (and please do contact dannymillum@iwgb.org.uk with any questions).
We are writing following receipt of your letter inviting us to an open day to discuss this year’s pay increase.
While we welcome the opportunity to engage over this, we would like to stress that this is a collective issue rather than an individual one, and needs to be resolved as such.
As you know, since the implementation of the London Living Wage at the University of London in 2012, the differentials between security staff and lower-paid workers have been eroded year-on-year.
Whereas once the hourly pay rates for security staff were almost two pounds higher than those for cleaners, the difference in many cases now is just a few pence.
While we are pleased that our colleagues have enjoyed these pay increases, it is unfair that we have been treated differently, especially as Kim Frost (then Director of HR) promised when the LLW was introduced that pay differentials would be maintained.
As such, we do not believe that 1.65% increase is adequate. Instead, we would request as a minimum that the rate for security staff be raised to at least £1.00 above that of the LLW minimum (eg £10.75 from November 2016) and that Cordant and the University in the future commit to restoring our previous differentials as per 2012.
We will be happy to meet with you as a group to discuss this issue on Wednesday, and would like to be accompanied by our trade union representative.
Best wishes
Members of your security team
Independent Workers Union of Great Britain - Universities of London Branch 