"‘It’s an abuse’: Migrant workers at private prep school protest over low pay,"

Cleaners at a private prep school gathered together in the rain this morning to protest against contract disparity, pay and sick leave...

The cleaners are balloting to take strike action for a London living wage and sick leave parity with directly employed staff...

The cleaners are paid £11.44 an hour, they are demanding an increase in pay to meet the London Living wage of £13.15 as well as a right to bank holidays...

All the workers balloting for strike action are migrants, the majority are from Latin America and they have been organised by United Voices of the World, a trade union for low-paid migrant workers.

The union said it has tried to negotiate with Westgate Cleaning Services (WCS), but the contractor is “refusing to listen”...

WCS took over as the schools cleaning contractor from NuServe in summer last year. This means cleaners at Blackheath Prep who have joined the school since the transfer are employed under a different contract.

A UVU representative said: “The new workers don’t have the same protections – half of the workers get paid all year round whereas the other half only get paid for the hours they work – during the summer and long breaks they get no pay.

“One of our demands is contract parity – they are all doing the same work so they should be treated equally. Companies like this come in and try to reduce the working conditions to make more money and it is not fair.”...

A spokesman from WCS said: “We are in active discussions with our cleaning team at Blackheath Prep who are currently balloting for strike action. The work they do is highly valued and we are working hard to reach an agreement about their terms and conditions. An improved offer was made earlier this week and we hope that negotiations will continue next week.”

A spokeswoman from Blackheath Prep said: “We know Westgate Cleaning are working hard to resolve these matters and that an improved pay offer has recently been made, which we very much welcome. We will work constructively with all parties to find a resolution as quickly as possible which will benefit the cleaners at the school.”