UCL issues guarantees to outsourced workers during COVID-19 crisis

Photography by Pietro Sambuy

UCL has introduced measures to protect security, catering, and cleaning staff during the pandemic, but claims have emerged that these measures do not go far enough.

On Friday 20th March, UCL announced that it would be extending its sick pay scheme to cover outsourced workers from 23rd March. The extension, which had been planned for July of this year, has been brought forward as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the university’s subsequent move to online teaching and building closures.

UCL currently has about 900 members of staff contracted through the firms Axis, Sodexo, and Aramark, working primarily in security, cleaning, and catering. As outsourced workers, they do not receive the same benefits as direct employees at the university, and they are therefore in a more precarious position during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

UCL’s announcement mentions that pay for outsourced security, cleaning, catering, and portering staff will be brought in line with UCL’s scheme, as planned, on 1st April. “For most staff, this will mean a pay rise on their hourly rate,” the statement reads. 

Outsourced staff will also be paid according to their contracted hours, regardless of whether or not they have to attend work during the coronavirus closures. Casual workers and those on zero-hours contracts will have their pay calculated using their average earnings in the 12 weeks previous to the announcement.

This statement comes two days after the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents low paid and outsourced workers, sent a letter to UCL’s President & Provost Michael Arthur with nine demands to ensure the health and safety of outsourced staff during the pandemic. The demands included a guarantee of full pay in case of sickness or self-isolation; pay for staff on zero-hour and temporary contracts during self-isolation, sick leave, and in the case of a reduction of service; and risk assessments on sites that remain open – including the provision of adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as face masks, gloves, and hand sanitiser.

IWGB’s letter also noted that Sodexo had already dismissed “at least 12 hospitality staff” at UCL as a result of the reduction of service after the suspension of face-to-face teaching. “These staff should all immediately be reinstated [. . .] All planned redundancies of this sort should immediately be halted,” they wrote.

A letter signed by members of staff and students was sent the same day to Michael Arthur, the UCL Council, and Senior Management in support of IWGB’s demands. It underscored the crucial work of outsourced workers at the university and their heightened risk in light of the pandemic, working “at personal risk to themselves and their families.” The letter sparked support from the UCL community, and by 20th March, it had reached over 1,000 signatures. 

“If there is anything that we have learned over the course of these past few weeks and months, it is that the university is first and foremost a community, not a business,” the letter read – perhaps as a nod to this year’s UCU strikes. It concluded: “UCL is one of the richest universities in the UK and should use its financial privilege to support those members of our community who are now facing extreme hardship and uncertainty.”

UCL’s announcement on 20th March was seen as a first step by the IWGB, who called it a “major concession” but also claimed that these measures “are not sufficient”. IWGB insisted that many of their original demands had not been met, including the reinstatement of workers who have been laid off during the COVID-19 crisis. They also called for a ban on zero-hour contracts and again requested  greater health and safety measures.

Recent weeks have seen revelations that many security staff and cleaners at UCL sites have either not received face masks and other supplies or received poor-quality supplies. An investigation by The Cheese Grater highlighted the risks cleaning staff face working at university halls during the pandemic, while IWGB noted that they are made to clean areas designated for use by only those in self-isolation.

The demands from IWGB come after the union organised the largest strike of outsourced workers in UK higher education history in November 2019 at UCL. The strike called for cleaning, catering, and security staff to be brought back in-house. Now, and especially in view of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, outsourced workers are reiterating the same demand. In response to UCL’s recent statement, UCL’s UCU branch tweeted, “only in-housing will truly protect these workers!”