University of London workers organised by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) are to go on strike on 6 June, following the biggest-ever strike of outsourced workers in UK higher education history.
More than 100 cleaners, porters, security officers, receptionists, gardeners, postroom staff and audiovisual staff are expected to walk out. This follows two days of strike action last month. The protests in support of the strikes were attended by hundreds of people, including Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP, Shadow Minister for Labour Laura Pidcock MP and musician Billy Bragg.
Outsourced workers receive worse pension, holiday pay, sick pay, maternity and paternity pay entitlements than their in-house colleagues.
But more important, outsourced staff are generally more likely to suffer from bullying, discrimination and illegal deduction of wages.
A protest in support of the strike will be held on 6 June from 5:30pm.
The campaign, which was launched by the IWGB in September 2017, has received the support of Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP (click here for his video message), Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley and a number of trade union and student union branches.
However, the union has been left with no option but to escalate its campaign, as the university has consistently denied the outsourced workers and their union, the IWGB, a voice in this process.
Previous strikes have only included security officers, receptionists, porters and postroom workers, but the latest ballot also includes cleaners, audiovisual staff and gardeners.
The IWGB is the largest union at the University of London central administration buildings, which includes Senate House, Stewart House, The Warburg institute, The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Student Central, International Hall, College Hall, Connaught Hall, Lilian Penson Hall and Nutford House.