29 January 2014

On Monday, 27 January 2014, a group of university cleaners kicked off a three day strike as part of their 'three things' campaign.

This Monday in London, outsourced university cleaners kicked off the latest phase of their "3 Cosas" campaign, which translates to the 'three things' campaign.

The three things that the staff are demanding are sick pay, holidays and pensions. The campaign has already managed to make a difference after a two day strike in November, when they won sick pay for absences of up to six months and 33 days of holiday per year.

The mainly Spanish migrant workforce stood at the gates of the University of London's Senate House from 6am and over 50 university workers were joined by students on the picket lines.

Cleaner Henry Lopez told the Morning Star: "We managed to get some concessions from the company but they are still not the same as direct employees of the university.

"So we're still unequal in terms and conditions.

"We have the company pensions, which is nothing compared to the university pensions.

"We're all human beings at the end of the day and I believe that we work for the University of London and should be treated the same as their employees."

Poorer pensions rights for indirect workers is just one of the key issues that will be covered at the IER's next pensions conference, which will be hosted in London on February 12, at the Unite Building.

We urge you to come along as we will be joined by a vast number of experts on the subject who will provide an insight into the situation. We hope to see you there.