Support the SOAS cleaners

By Tom Ogg

Students at SOAS have occupied the university in protest at the treatment of their cleaners. SOAS contracted their cleaning out to the private company ISS. Early on Friday 12th June ISS called a meeting ostensibly on sick pay. ISS and the SOAS management were hiding forty camouflage-clad Immigration and Border Police, who went on to arrest nine cleaners, four of whom have already been deported, one of whom was heavily pregnant. They were not allowed any legal or trade union representation.

Recently, cleaners at SOAS won the London Living Wage and trade union representation after a successful “Justice for Cleaners” campaign. This is clearly revenge for that campaign.

The hypocrisy of the company and SOAS is extraordinary. They employed migrant workers without paperwork in order to take advantage of their weak bargaining position, and so as to get lower rates of pay, and then as soon as those workers demand their rights they send in the police to have the troublemakers deported.

I urge you to support the campaign and the occupation. They aim to help the cleaners still under threat of deportation, get rid of ISS by bringing cleaning in house, and hold the responsible SOAS officials to account for the persecution of their own staff. I was at the occupation last night and they need as much help as possible, to put more pressure on SOAS, to get enough food and supplies, and to get justice for the deported cleaners. There will be further demonstrations today.

See http://freesoascleaners.blogspot.com/ for more details.