Workers who clean and cater for a Government department building came together this week for two days of strike action over pay, annual leave and sick leave.

Cleaners and caterers formed a picket line outside the Department for Education (DfE) in Great Smith Street, Westminster on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The group blasted reggae music, sang chants and waved flags and banners as they called for delayed wages to be paid and demanded the same sick pay and annual leave as the civil servants who work in the same offices.

Speaking from the picket line, Khadija Jalloh, 49, of Old Kent Road, Bermondsey, said: “When I am ill they call me all day telling me to come in, pressuring me.

“They have no respect, management shout at us, they don’t care how long we have been working there.”…

The DfE outsources its cleaning to a private contractor, ISS UK. The contracts are owned by the Government Property Agency (GPA)…

A spokesman from ISS UK said: “While we are disappointed that this industrial action has gone ahead, we value the contribution of every ISS team member. That’s why we’ve already committed to keeping pay for these employees in line with the London Living Wage…