UCL staff say: ‘ Bring them in! ’

UNISON held a noisy and good-humoured protest at University College London (UCL) today, as the first part of a campaign to persuade the university to bring outsourced staff back in house. Shouts of “End outsourcing – in house now!” and “UCL – bring them in!” rang around the courtyard, as members, reps and organisers gathered in front of the university’s art gallery, bringing a burst of purple to the grey day. Organiser Madeline Taylor explained that the university “currently outsources its cleaning and catering and security services.” The cleaning and catering staff are employed by Sodexo and the security staff by Axis. “They have really bad terms and conditions,” she continued, including far less leave than other university staff and no sick leave beyond the statutory minimum. UNISON has enjoyed success at other universities in London, including the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Goldsmiths and Birkbeck, where services have already been or are in the process of being brought back in house. A central element of these campaigns was the percentage of affected workers who were woman and/or Black. The institutions themselves make statements about “how they believe in equality”, but for their outsourced workers, they are not delivering. And this is the case at UCL too. The resolve was clear from those gathered. They are no longer prepared to be treated as a second-class workforce – and UNISON i...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News Bring them in higher education outsourcing Source Type: news