Despite being critical workers for the upkeep and functioning of City University of London, its cleaners are not directly employed by the university, but by a third-party outsourcing company.
This has led to incredibly exploitative conditions. “The work is too much for the pay,” one cleaner shared with The Communist, his voice filled with exhaustion. “One night I had to cover four floors, by myself, and we don’t get the support we need.”
One cleaner spoke of the physical toll that constant overwork takes, noting that many of his colleagues are suffering from illnesses related to the strain of the job. Another revealed the mental impact, sharing that there are days she can’t see her children at all.
In October last year, the cleaners commenced strike action to end outsourcing and bring these jobs back in-house.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Despite a long and hard-fought campaign, uni management have so far ignored the cleaner’s concerns, showing where their interests lie. This disregard for essential workers is just another damning example of universities being run like businesses.
But the workers have stood strong faced with these challenges, and members of the City University Communists Society and local RCP have joined their recent pickets in solidarity.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
There is clear discontent among the student population in how the university is being run. They are showing a growing interest in supporting this struggle, with many stopping to talk to strikers and RCP members to take flyers, and express solidarity.
The cleaners’ fight for justice and an end to exploitation resonates with everyone who believes that universities should serve the interests of its staff and students – not its profit-hungry directors and shareholders.
As one librarian and union member supporting the strike remarked, “we do the work that keeps this place functioning, and we deserve respect… This fight is not just about the cleaners; it’s about all workers… A victory for the cleaners would be a victory for everyone.”
