2020 was a big year for UVW. In the face of a deadly pandemic threatening the lives and livelihoods of our members, families and communities, UVW’s membership doubled and our staff numbers tripled.
Our membership in 2020 displayed over and over again how the power of worker-led collective direct action can move mountains, pandemic or not.
Greenwich University to pay outsourced cafe workers, cleaners and security guards the London Living Wage (£10.85 per hour) and the same occupational sick pay and holiday entitlement as directly employed staff
Ark Academy (part of the Academy chain Ark) to provide the cleaners with parity of sick pay with teachers and pay the London Living Wage (£10.85), up from the minimum wage (£8.72)
The Adelphi building, owned by billionaire Amancio Ortega, to pay their cleaners the London Living wage
Had three groups of UVW members walk off the job in Wildcat strikes over unpaid wages and H&S concerns, respectively
Returned a successful strike ballot of care workers at Sage Nursing Home who are due to strike in January 2021
Launched several recognition campaigns at 3 major VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) charities, a Scottish art gallery, a care home and multiple law firms
Launched campaigns for victimised UVW members, Percy and Cetin
Raised £25,000 for the family of UVW member and Ministry of Justice cleaner Emanuel so they could repatriate his body to Guinea Bissau and tie themselves over following his untimely passing at the Ministry shortly following outbreaks of coronavirus
Distributed 2,000 face masks to our members and other frontline workers
Have handled over 1,500 cases and inquiries from members since lockdown in March 2020
Won £100,000s in compensation for our members and started proceedings that once won or settled next year will see £100,000s more in compensation in the pockets of our members
Began legal proceedings against the police following the unlawful arrest of UVW committee member Franck Magennis at the St. George’s University of London picket line
Successfully fended off threats of defamation proceedings
Won the first ever worker status claim for strippers who are normally falsely classified as self employed independent contractors and therefore denied the right to paid annual leave and the right not to be discriminated against
Similar to the above case, we have also brought legal proceedings against a major VAWG charity arguing that their counsellors are actually limb b workers, not self employed independent contractors
Brought groundbreaking legal proceedings against the Royal Parks, St George’s University and the Ministry of Justice arguing for the first in court that outsourcing BAME workers on inferior pay rates and T&Cs to in-house workers is an act of indirect race discrimination
Won interim relief in the employment tribunal for UVW member Alejandro who was sacked from his job in a fruit factory after raising H&S concerns. This was the first Coronavirus related judgement in the employment tribunal.
Took a major contractor to the High Court, arguing new grounds of law that an injunction should be granted to prevent the trade union victimisation of a security guard on the grounds that compensation available in the employment tribunal doesn’t adequately mitigate the financial precarity low-paid workers will be forced to endure if sacked.
Ran a mini-series, called “UNION TALKS” on trade union history
Linked up with grassroots community groups such as Association of Latino parents in the UK and Common Knowledge
Union democracy! In 2020 we:
Carried out a membership wide consultation in order to democratically determine UVW’s priorities and future direction
Expanded membership of our executive committee to ensure it continues to reflect our diverse membership and is comprised of the highest degree of rank and file representation as possible
UVW in the Media! In 2020 we:
Appeared in video reports on Channel 4, RT TV, and the Guardian
Starred in a documentary film about UVW and our campaign at St Mary’s hospital released by the Guardian
Appeared in the Guardian, Huckmag, Tribune, Freedom News, BBC, Left Foot Forward, Camden New Journal, New Socialist, Vice, Novara, Legal Futures, Legal Cheek, The Canary, The Independent, Business-Human rights, Vashti media, SWLondoner, Daily Mail, My London, Wired, and several other smaller platforms too.
Contributed to True Currency: About Feminist Economics Podcast: Flor Andrade Valencia & Jaquelin Saldaña, feature in Episode 2: Worker Struggles, Part 1 – When Migrant Women Rise, We All Rise.
Keeping UVW going! In 2020 we secured:
Emergency Coronavirus funding to distribute essential goods to our members
Further funding from the Trust for London to help fund our legal department
Funding to run organiser training programmes from the Lipman-Miliband Trust
Other
UVW’s work was displayed in the British Library exhibition “Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights”, running from 23 October 2020 to 21 February 2021
What a year. We’re ready for 2021 – let the fightback continue!
