The 3 Cosas Campaign has received a letter of congratulations from a PCS branch in Scotland. This PCS branch is also based at Cofely Workplace, the employer of all of the 3 Cosas cleaners. Thank you PCS!
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.
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.
Latest developments and next steps in the outsourced workers’ dispute
Last week saw the second wave of strike action by porters, cleaners, security staff and maintenance workers employed by the contractor Cofely GDF-Suez at the University of London. The three day strike, which took place on the 27, 28 and 29 of January, followed the previous two day stoppage in November last year.
Both strikes were unprecedented in their strength and impact.
Following the first strike, immediate improvements to terms and conditions were announced by the University and the company, with new contracts offering more holidays and proper sick pay (previously only statutory sick pay had been paid). Crucially, however, rather than open negotiations with the IWGB over these proposals, they were instead described as having been already accepted without consultation on behalf of the workers by the UNISON union, despite it having only a smattering of largely managerial members.
Furthermore, the proposals fell well short of ensuring equality of treatment with the University’s directly-employed staff, and did nothing to address the job losses threatened by the impending closure of three Halls of Residence, where many of these workers are based.
The IWGB called for further talks over these issues, and when these were refused, returned to members who overwhelmingly endorsed the call for a second strike.
Once again, the strike saw a large turnout, with workers from across all areas of the contract (cleaners, security staff, porters and maintenance workers) and a myriad of different countries (including Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Poland, Slovakia, Pakistan, the United States and the United Kingdom) represented. Backing from students, union branches and other supporters was such that once again a strike fund capable of paying all the wages of the participants was raised.
Two of the days saw mass pickets, turning away delivery vans and defying the rain. And on the Tuesday an open top bus took the picket around London, to Cofely HQ, the Royal Opera House, and Westminister, where MPs including John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn spoke in support of the strike.
The immediate response of the company has been repression, with letters being sent to workers threatening disciplinary action for attending the picket. But beyond this, there appears to be a growing sense at the University of London that the IWGB is here to stay. Membership among Cofely employees is now above 50 per cent, far higher than that of any other union and normally sufficient to trigger automatic recognition. Directly employed University staff are also joining, as they recognise the benefits of belonging to a union independent of management, and one which is genuinely democratic and prepared to fight on their behalf.
From the IWGB, there is an acceptance that, while the dispute remains live, and more strikes are likely, the best way to resolve their members’ myriad issues is through negotiation, and they are keen to do what they can to remove any stumbling blocks to recognition. The next step is likely to be a formal letter to Cofely management, inviting both sides to make a genuine attempt to resolve the dispute via the involvement of ACAS.
Should this fail, a campaign of rolling strikes of more prolonged duration is envisaged, as workers are determined that the momentum their actions thus far have established be maintained.
To the comrades of University of London branch of IWGB and 3 Cosas campaign
28 January 2014
Dear comrades
The major concessions you won after your strike last November have had an impact far beyond the issue of outsourcing at the University of London. Given the climate of the past few years in Britain, when most of the major unions gave up any serious struggle that can protect workers’ jobs, working conditions and living standards; your victory over sick pay and holidays has served as an example that workers in Britain and beyond have learnt from.
We salute your continuing struggle on January 27-29 over union recognition, terms and conditions, and job losses. We are sure that yet again you will inspire other workers and various anti-cuts campaigners in Britain and internationally to be more resolute, bold and dynamic in their struggles.
We wish the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and the 3 Cosas campaign every success in making the University of London and Cofely GDF-Suez submit to the workers’ demands. You deserve the same rights as workers employed directly by the University of London.
Stop discrimination against migrant workers!
Equal pay and rights for all outsourced workers!
Long live the international solidarity and struggle of the working class!
Vuestra lucha es nuestra lucha!
With revolutionary greetings
Iranian Revolutionary Marxists’ Tendency
On day two of the strike, the battle bus took the picket on the road, crisscrossing London via a variety of locations – the UNISON building, the Guardian newspaper, Cofely GDF-Suez headquarters, the Royal Opera House and the Houses of Parliament, where this great photo was taken of workers with supportive MPs John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn.
Outsourced workers at the University of London’s Central Administration, employed by Cofely GDF-Suez, will be striking this Monday to Wednesday, 27 to 29 January, 2014.
The first and third days of the strike will be at Senate House, University of London, from 6 am until 1 pm. On the second strike day, the entire picket line will board an open top bus and do a whistle-stop tour of high profile sites throughout London, including national media outlets and places of particular interest to the University of London and Cofely. However, we will still be maintaining pickets at the University!
The strike is called by the University of London branch of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and is over union recognition, terms and conditions, and job losses. “We’ve made great progress thus far, but our fight will continue until we win all our demands,” said Sonia Chura, Vice-Chair of the University of London Branch of the IWGB.
The strike action comes on the heels of a partially successful two day strike at the end of November, 2013, which won major concession on sick pay and holidays. However, the IWGB is also demanding a formal recognition agreement in order to set up proper negotiating infrastructure. Lots of the workplace issues that later turn in to formal grievances or industrial disputes could potentially be avoided if there was more dialogue between the company and the union.
The second issue of dispute regards terms and conditions for Cofely GDF-Suez workers, specifically sick pay, holidays, and pensions, which- although much improved after the previous strike- are still inferior to those terms and conditions of direct employees of the University of London. The IWGB is demanding parity in these terms and conditions between direct employees of the University of London and Cofely GDF-Suez employees at the University of London.
The third issue of dispute is about job losses. The University of London is planning on shutting down the Garden Halls- where many union members are employed as cleaners- next summer. The IWGB wants the company to re-allocate these workers within the company as vacancies arise in order to prevent job losses.
The demand for improved terms and conditions also forms part of the 3 Cosas Campaign, which has been putting pressure on the University of London for over a year.
Want to make a donation to the strike fund ahead of next week’s strike? One click on our new site will do the trick! See here: http://donate.3cosascampaign.com/
Twitter: @3CosasCampaign #3Cosas
Contact: University of London IWGB Branch Secretary Jason Moyer-Lee Jasonmoyer-lee@iwgb.org.uk and Daniel Cooper, daniel.cooper@ulu.lon.ac.uk .
A NATIONAL SPEAKER TOUR – 3 Cosas, the University of London struggle and beyond: How workers and students can unite, fight and win.
The end of 2013 saw major student struggles for “Cops off campus” – sparked by the occupation of University of London’s headquarters Senate House, which in turn was inspired by the ongoing struggle of outsourced UoL workers for their rights.
The outsourced workers’ 3 Cosas campaign has been a model of dynamism and militancy, and has already won significant concessions from management. The workers are planning to strike again on 27-29 January.
The University of London branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) trade union and the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) are co-organising a speaker tour to spread awareness of and build support for 3 Cosas, and to promote discussion of recent student-worker struggles and how they can contribute to reviving our movements.
Speakers from both IWGB and NCAFC will speak at as many meeting as possible.
The speaker tour will be from Monday 17th February. To book a meeting at your union branch, workplace, university or college, get in touch with Daniel Cooper: daniel.cooper@ulu.lon.ac.uk or ring 07840 136 728
NCAFC: http://www.anticuts.com
IWGB at UoL: https://iwgb.wordpress.com
3 Cosas campaign: http://3cosascampaign.wordpress.com
University of London Union: http://www.ulu.co.uk
Independent Workers Union of Great Britain - Universities of London Branch 