Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 17th April 2025 Issue no. 1158
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Dept of Education cleaners poised to strike for a living wage
Cleaners who work for ISS UK at the Department for Education (DfE) are demanding parity of terms and conditions with civil servants and are set to ballot to strike. They are seeking a living wage, equal sick pay and annual leave, along with appropriate staffing levels and union recognition.
The DfE cleaners have given their bosses until 8th January 2024 to reply. If there is no reply, members have instructed their trade union - United Voices of the World - to declare a dispute and issue a notice of intention to ballot for industrial action.
The cleaners are demanding that their wages be increased to the new London Living Wage in the January payroll and that this rise be backdated to November 2023. They are saying that the higher cost of living is making it harder for them to keep warm in their homes due to the increased cost of gas and electricity, that food prices are still higher than they were two years ago, that they are running out of food and finding themselves unable to afford more. They say that not increasing their pay is having a drastic impact on their lives.
Despite working in the DfE's buildings, the cleaners say they receive less sick pay than the civil service workers they clean-up after. They say they should not be compelled, by threat of financial hardship, to force themselves into work when sick.
Their annual leave is not as extensive either. Many of the UVW members are parents and grandparents and they believe they should receive the same entitlement to family life as any other DfE colleague… accordingly they are demanding parity with civil service annual leave entitlement.
There has been a considerable increase in workload over recent years due to cuts to staffing levels. This has left some of the cleaners feeling exhausted after their shifts. The cleaners are demanding appropriate staffing levels.
Petros Elia, general secretary for UVW, explains:
"Our members are a vital part of the DfE team… without our members working hard to keep the buildings safe and clean, the department would cease to function. They want the same terms & conditions as everyone else working in the building. Reasonable entitlement to sick leave removes the psychological pressure and precarity that falling ill can cause workers, particularly when they have families to provide for, as all our members have.
"Our members have decades and decades of cumulative experience cleaning the buildings. They know every inch of the buildings inside out and can do every aspect of the job blindfolded. Allow them to do their jobs with reasonable levels of staffing so they can maintain the high standard of cleanliness and safety they have consistently delivered in their roles over many years."
The cleaners took three days of strike action over Summer as part of a mass strike by members of the United Voices of the World trade union, who are all demanding dignity, equality and respect.
21st December 2023