UK: Migrant cleaners employed by Govt. contracted facilities management co. ISS allege discriminatory working conditions compared to white colleagues; incl. co comment
Summary
Date Reported: 14 Apr 2024
Location: United Kingdom
Companies
ISS - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Cleaning & maintenance , Women , Unknown migration status )Issues
Poverty Wages , Racial, ethnicity, caste or origin discrimination , Fair & Equal Wages , Denial of leave , Excessive production targets , Right to UnionisationResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: A spokesperson for ISS UK&I said: “We value the contribution of every ISS team member and will continue to work towards a resolution. We are disappointed that this ballot is going ahead.” They declined to comment on whether they would negotiate. In October 2024, London News Online reported that the workers have won a pay rise and full sick pay following negotiations with ISS.
Source type: News outlet
“Migrant cleaners’ strike threat as they demand same rights as white government colleagues”
Migrant cleaners working at the Department for Education (DfE) are threatening strike action over pay as well as concerns that Black workers are not being afforded the same rights as their predominantly white colleagues.
Union members say they have been denied the London living wage of £13.15 per hour, plus the annual leave and sick pay entitlement that white-collar workers at the department receive.
The outsourced workers, who clean offices within the department’s Sanctuary Buildings headquarters, say they are struggling financially…
A United Voices of The World (UVW) union spokesperson said: “The system of outsourcing allows companies to offer inferior terms and conditions for the outsourced cleaner workforce, which happens to be made up mostly of workers from ethnic minority and migrant backgrounds because of matters of historical structural racism….
Contractor ISS UK Limited, which outsources the cleaners to the Government Property Agency, has refused to negotiate – following “numerous attempts”, the union said…
A spokesperson for ISS UK&I said: “We value the contribution of every ISS team member and will continue to work towards a resolution. We are disappointed that this ballot is going ahead.” They declined to comment on whether they would negotiate.