This October the trade union that I co-founded and work for as an organiser, United Voices of the World (UVW), will coordinate multiple strikes across London. These strikes will see our members, the majority of whom are migrants working in the low paid economy, face off against several major employers and their prestigious clients; with the Ministry of Justice, St. George’s University, the University of Greenwich, the University of East London, the Royal Parks, ITV and Channel 4 all set to be affected.
The biggest of these strikes will take place at St. Mary’s Hospital with a first round of strikes beginning on the 28th of October and going well into December, with 15 strike days planned over that period. The West London hospital, owned and run by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, will see well over 170 cleaners and porters outsourced to French multinational Sodexo demand equality in pay and working conditions with NHS staff.
Sodexo has held a facilities services contract with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust since 2014. In that time our members have reported experiencing a catalogue of abuses; they have shown us dirty, mice ridden and mixed sex changing rooms located in the basement of the hospital that they are expected to change in; they have reported being barred from eating in NHS staff canteens or resting in NHS staff rooms; they have reported paying out of their own pocket to get to work on public holidays such as Christmas and Sodexo refusing to cover the costs.
