The Justice For Cleaners SOAS campaign is led by SOAS cleaning staff, with the support of students and staff. The cleaners started the campaign in 2006, and in 2008 won the London Living Wage. Last year, after a series of strikes, the campaign won its demands for sick pay, holiday pay and pensions.

However, the campaign has not yet won its key demand for the cleaners to be brought back in-house (to be employed by SOAS directly rather than by an outsourced company). Since the early 1990s the SOAS cleaners have been outsourced to a succession of private companies, all of which have seen allegations of victimisation and intimidation of cleaning staff including the targeting of campaign activists and union representatives and through attempts to undermine working conditions.

Now, after the cleaners have won sick pay, holiday pay, and pensions, this company is threatening to withdraw sick pay, is threatening to introduce zero hours contracts, is exploiting the migrant status of some workers, and is being obstructive in its dealings with union representatives. It’s clear that any improved terms and conditions that the campaign wins from SOAS will never be safe as long as the cleaners are outsourced, as private companies will always try to cut costs by undermining working conditions and victimising the workforce. The cleaners are demanding to be brought back in-house in order to be treated with dignity and respect.

Two years ago, in response to JFC’s amazing activism and to a referendum in which 98.2% of participants from the SOAS community voted in favour of the cleaners being brought in-house, SOAS management said they would create a shared service with Senate House and Birkbeck which would not involve a private company. However, there has still been no movement whatsoever towards this shared service. We need to re-launch the Justice For Cleaners campaign to ensure that if SOAS does not create this shared service, then they will bring the cleaners back in-house rather than keeping them outsourced to a company which victimises and intimidates members of our community on our campus. 

Join us on Wednesday 26th November, at 5pm in the JCR, to help us re-launch the campaign for the cleaners to be treated with dignity and respect. 

La Lucha Continua!

Facebook event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/321527141385653/