Cleaners at one of the most prestigious private girls’ schools in the country have voted for strike action after being told out of the blue they are to be docked five weeks of work a year.

The dispute has broken out at James Allen’s girls’ school (Jags) in Dulwich…

The school…is now facing industrial action by about 20 members of United Voices of the World (UVW), a grassroots trade union for low-paid, migrant workers.

Some of them have cleaned the school for years. They say the changes to their contracts, which will mean their annual working weeks will be reduced from 43 to 38, were made without consultation and are “deeply unfair”…

A Jags spokesperson said: “The disputed employment arrangements are directly between the employer, DB Services, and their staff…

Correspondence from DB Services showed the company promised an uplift in pay to £13.15 an hour, the London living wage, if staff agreed to the cut in weeks. If they failed to sign the contract, their pay would be pegged at £11.55. DB Services did not respond to requests for comment.

UVW said the savings made by the proposed cleaning cuts would amount to about £20,000 – less than the annual fees for a single student at the school…