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15.07.2024 / News / James Allen's Girls' School / Justice for Cleaners
“I can’t believe they have cut our pay. It is blackmail what they’re doing – forcing us to agree to a cut in hours or a cut in pay. I don’t feel valued. I feel outraged. We are people. They don’t treat us like people. (…) We will fight back with everything, we are fighting for our rights and the rights of anyone else who ever works in this company. The fight is not just for me. It is for everyone.”
Nelsa Jimenez, a cleaner at JAGs
Cleaners at the prestigious £24,000-a-year private school James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS) in Dulwich, London, are in a fierce battle against severe pay cuts and slashed hours. The unlawful 12% reduction, from £13.15 to £11.55 per hour, came without warning on July 9, immediately after a historic unanimous strike vote—the first ever among JAGS cleaners, finalised on July 5.
The abrupt pay cut has devastated the hard-working cleaners, many of whom have faithfully served the school for over a decade. Already among the lowest-paid at the school, they now face an even more dire financial situation, barely above minimum wage. Martiza Holguin, a cleaner at JAGs, expressed deep frustration: “I have worked there for so many years. I wake up at 4am every day, in rain or snow, waiting in the cold until they open the doors. They show us no respect, no appreciation for the work we do to keep the school clean while they reap the benefits. This pay cut is a betrayal. I’m outraged and disappointed. It leaves me struggling to pay rent, buy food, and support my children. We’re simply asking for enough to survive in London, and my colleagues are ready to fight hard for the security and dignity they’re trying to take from us. We won’t give up.”
The cleaners’ demands leading to the strike ballot included annual pay rises aligned with the London Living Wage, parity in sick pay with teachers, and halting unilateral reductions in their work weeks without consultation.
The pay cut, administered by school contractor DB Services with full knowledge from JAGS’s Head, who earns over £200,000 annually, comes as the school boasts an income of £25 million and net assets of £41 million. Despite this wealth, the school’s cost-saving measures disproportionately target its lowest-paid workers, saving a mere £20,000 annually through the cuts. The school was ranked Independent Secondary school of the Year in 2024 by The Times and claims to profess values of inclusion, diversity, and equity.
The workers are determined to strike for their rights. Gloria Chalaco, cleaner at JAGs and UVW member, said: “We are ready to strike because losing five weeks of work per year is deeply unfair. They didn’t consult us at all—they just started implementing cuts and changes, ignoring our voices. We can’t just find another job to make up for such a significant income loss, especially with scattered weeks off throughout the year. Our bills and rent don’t stop. On top of that, we don’t have sick pay. When we get sick, we either work while ill or lose our pay. We demand changes, including sick pay. They don’t respect us, the cleaners, as people with the same needs and rights as everyone else, yet we ensure the environment is healthy and safe for the pupils.”
Guido Fabián Guallichco, cleaner of 12 years at JAGs and UVW member, added the fight is not just about JAGS but about all cleaners being treated like second class workers: “We are demanding our rights as workers because cleaners are treated as if we have no rights, as if we don’t matter. But we are workers like everyone else and we want our rights to be respected. We have been forced to make this decision to ballot for a strike in order to be heard. We are united and we are going to fight because if we accept this way of being treated today, there will be consequences later, both here for us and for all workers in the sector.”
UVW has initiated legal proceedings and scheduled strike dates upon the school’s reopening in September after summer break. UVW members vow to pursue justice both in court and on the picket line.
Show your support by joining our Solidarity Network and voicing your protest directly to the school’s administration with this letter. Get ready to stand with our cleaners on the picket line this September. Together, we fight for fairness and dignity for all workers.
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