Additional reporting by Viktoria Karaivanova, Isabella Sanderson, and Angelika Wong.
Outsourced cleaners at UCL walked out last week to protest against plans to slash cleaning roles.
According to Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB), 195 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) cleaning roles will be potentially axed, reducing the workforce by 30% — UCL and Sodexo have not confirmed these figures.
The strikes organised by IWGB ran from Monday 29 September to Wednesday 1 October.
A UCL cleaner threatened by the cuts at UCL said: “I have a family just like researchers, lecturers and office workers do, but because I’m a cleaner, mine doesn’t seem to matter. We’re outsourced and out of mind.
“I’m a single mother with three children to support. I leave my house at 4am every morning, running for the bus to avoid being penalised for lateness if I’m even 15 minutes late to my shift. I’ve already seen colleagues in tears due to being overworked — there’s no way we can handle any more. The cuts will also make conditions unbearable for students. Rubbish already piles up, dust gathers for days, and flats are full of mould. Halving the cleaning staff will only make things worse.”
Farhana Uddin, IWGB Universities of London Branch Chair, said: “If students at UCL want to understand what structural racism looks like, they need only look at the cleaners who empty their bins. These mostly black and brown workers are hired on worse terms and conditions than UCL’s mostly white direct employees. Now, many face losing their jobs altogether, while those left behind will be forced to carry double workloads.
“We call on UCL to scrap these cuts and bring cleaners in-house immediately. Students, staff and the wider community must stand together to hold UCL to a higher standard — one that treats all workers with dignity, wherever they come from, whatever language they speak.”
The Cheese Grater spoke at length with IWGB representatives, cleaners and teaching staff at the protests.
Mark Newman, member of UCL staff, said: “I am here with my trade union, the University College Union, to support our colleagues in IWGB in protesting against the cuts that are being made for cleaning services.
“Our trade union is going to continue supporting IWGB, who are organising the strikes, by attending their protests. We have taken action through the health and safety committee at UCL to try and get a health impact assessment, carried out by UCL on the effects of the cuts. We have been writing to the UCL management to get them to reverse these cuts.”
