10.05.2016 / News / Barbican

UVW Flashmob in the Barbican Centre

UVW members and supporters occupied the Barbican Centre on 7th May as hundreds of visitors waited to enter the sold out concert of Yann Tiersen.

The flashmob, supported by activists from the Bakers Union, Class War, SOAS Unison, Unite Hotel workers branch and IWGB Couriers branch, was in response to Servest, the Barbican Centre’s new cleaning contractor’s attempt to sack a number of cleaners who are UVW members. The cleaners have worked at the Barbican for years and won the London Living Wage after a protracted campaign. Servest has not provided a single reasonable reason as to why these cuts are necessary. These proposed sackings are an attack on UVW and a cruel and callous way to save a few pennies on the back of the lowest paid workers at the Barbican. If these cuts go ahead it will also lead to a significant and unmanageable increase in the workloads of the remaining cleaners. The cleaners at the Barbican will be ballotted for strike action in the coming weeks.