"Meta, workers' rights matter!", 1 September 2022

Workers who are sub-contracted to clean the offices of Meta (formerly known as Facebook) must all be guaranteed fair working conditions as part of their right to freedom of association, including the right to form and join a union and collectively bargain for decent conditions, without fear of interference, intimidation or retaliation.

Amnesty International is publishing this briefing following the dismissal of Guillermo Camacho Equez (Camacho) in October 2021. He was a contracted cleaner and trade union representative of the Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union (CAIWU) who actively spoke out and campaigned for fair working conditions and against the excessive workload of cleaners at Meta’s London office on Brock Street.

The analysis aims to reconstruct the succession of events and circumstances that led to Camacho’s dismissal. The organization is concerned that the collected evidence points to the case amounting to an unjustified interference with workers’ rights to organize at their workplace and gives rise to concerns that trade union activity has been specifically targeted. Camacho’s dismissal also raises concerns that Meta and its contractors acted contrary to their stated human rights commitments, including to guarantee workers’ rights. The behaviour of the companies – Meta, and Jones Lang LaSalle Limited (JLL) and the Churchill Contracts Services Limited (Churchill) as its sub-contractors – as per the evidence seen by the organization - indicates they have failed to respect human rights standards, including ensuring that cleaners carrying out services on Meta’s premises can collectively bargain for safe and fair working conditions without fear of dismissal or other reprisal. Camacho’s dismissal also created a chilling effect on the ability of cleaners to collectively bargain for fair working conditions...