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29.08.2024 / News / James Allen's Girls' School

Cleaners at the prestigious James Allen’s Girls School halt strike after pay deal

Outsourced migrant cleaners at the prestigious £24,000-a-year private school James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS) in Dulwich, London, have for now, called off a planned strike in September after reaching a deal which will see pay cuts reversed and the introduction of full sick pay.

The three day strike that was due to take place next week has been called off by the cleaners’ union United Voices of the World (UVW) after all the pay cuts have been reversed and backdated and workers told they will receive compensation for the reduced hours they were given. The migrant cleaners will be paid the London Living Wage and have been guaranteed annual pay increases and agreed enhanced pay for any cover work.

Rosa Garces Chinche, JAGS cleaner and UVW member, said: “I am very happy with what we won today, we achieved a lot especially considering for many of us it was the first time we were in a union. We are very appreciative of all the support we received along the way, from other union members, from the teachers who stood by us every step of the way, and from the community members and alumni of JAGs that sent us so much support. I think it important that migrant cleaners everywhere know that we have power in our hands, and we need to unite and build unions in order to have respect at work and win big wins! Always remember, ¡La unión hace la fuerza!”

The cleaners, who are employed directly by contractor DB Services, resorted to “working under protest” and commencing legal proceedings after being informed in May that changes to their working hours and contracts were due to take effect imminently and without consultation. The cleaners launched a campaign to fight the cuts, supported by JAGS alumni who distributed leaflets in the local community.

When their pay was unlawfully slashed by a whopping 12%, taking it to a lower rate of £11.55 per hour, the cleaners voted unanimously to strike. These pay cuts have been reversed and pay is being returned to £13.15 per hour. The JAGS cleaners have been guaranteed annual pay increases and from 1 April next year they will be paid the London Living Wage every year after that.

Petros Elia, general secretary for UVW, said: “The resilience of our members, their bravery and determination to fight for a dignified wage and refusal to allow their boss to bully them into accepting cuts, alongside the solidarity from teachers and alumni has delivered this win. We’re pleased the strike action can be avoided and that JAGS – the oldest independent girls’ school in London – will finally treat their cleaners with dignity and respect!”

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