Stand with UCL Cleaners: Inside October 23rd's Strike Action
Image Credit: EU Reports
UCL cleaners and students gathered at 4:30am on October 23rd to protest mass redundancies following the university’s subcontractor, Sodexo’s, decision to cut over 150 cleaning positions across campus and accommodations. The move has left workers fearing for their livelihoods, while those remaining face crippling workloads for unchanged pay.
UCL continues to outsource its cleaning services rather than employing cleaners directly – a policy the Independent Workers of Great Britain Union (IWGB) has opposed since 2019, arguing it fuels exploitation and job insecurity for migrant staff on insecure contracts, who will not receive redundancy pay. UCL claims these redundancies are necessary for financial stability and environmental sustainability despite an income increase of over £100 million from the previous year; “it is unclear how reducing staff numbers will improve recycling or sustainability targets”, one union organiser mentioned.
One cleaner, speaking anonymously for fear of dismissal, describes the drastic cuts: “We used to clean the same kitchens and bathrooms three times a week. Now we’re restricted to cleaning them once a week, leaving them dirty, and are responsible for the workload of colleagues who’ve been let go in the same hours we used to do half the work in, and no additional pay.” In her residence, staff numbers have halved, leaving each cleaner to tackle 25 bathrooms in an hour – just over two minutes per bathroom.
“Parents are paying hundreds for accommodation that isn’t even clean [...]. Cleaners are essential, and UCL treats us as disposable,” she said. “Staff are reduced, work has increased, but the ones working receive no extra pay. Where does the money go?”
Yet, accommodation prices keep climbing. Despite UCL’s record student intake and rising fees, students are paying more for less, while the people who keep halls live-able are stripped of secure working conditions.
Since the previous protest from September 30th to October 2nd, the reality remains unchanged: UCL’s cleaners continue to face mistreatment. This is a moral issue as much as one concerning labour. UCL, despite promoting a curriculum of decolonisation, fails to practise its own principles: structural racism and systemic inequality run deep within the institution.
What can students do to help? The IWGB urges them to join protests, demand justice for cleaners, and contact UCL leadership to reinstate staff under fair working conditions. “If UCL wants to uphold its global reputation,” said one student organiser, “it can’t do so on the backs of underpaid, overworked staff.” Meaningful change won’t happen unless students, the university’s paying customers, raise their voices. The choice to take a stand is ours.