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22.08.2024 / News / HARRODS

Harrods’ migrant cleaners call off strike after forcing policy change on annual leave

Harrods night cleaners, who are United Voices of the World (UVW) members, forced a policy change and called off their planned strike action after the bosses of the luxury London store scrapped a restrictive new annual leave policy. The migrant cleaners, who are 95% UVW members, declared victory after a unanimous vote in favour of striking against the annual leave policy which would have severely restricted their ability to take time off to visit families abroad.

Harrods scrapped the draconian policy, which would have limited holidays to between one to two weeks depending on the time of year. Now, the cleaners will continue to take three weeks of holiday throughout the year, allowing the migrant workers to visit their families.

Agnelo Fernandes, Harrods night cleaner and UVW member, said: “This is unity among us, we are all united. UVW helped us a lot, we are grateful. This would not have happened without UVW’s support. We are very happy. The managers wanted to do everything their own way, but now they understand the power of our unity, and now they have to give in.”

The abandoned policy would have particularly impacted the diverse workforce of cleaners, many of whom hail from Asia and Africa, including places as distant as Goa and the Philippines. These employees often save for several years to travel long distances to visit their families and are unable to take several shorter trips in a year. Due to the potentially discriminatory nature of the abandoned policy, UVW had been exploring legal action.

Clive Furtado, Harrods night cleaner and UVW member, said: “It’s a victory for us all, for everyone. All our demands are being met. Whatever we asked Harrods for, they have agreed to all the demands, which is brilliant. Before they told us that we can only take two week’s holidays so now it’s back to three weeks which is good. They’ve also started approving the holidays. Before they could take long, but now the holidays have been approved very fast. Because of our struggle the day shift has also benefited, everybody is benefiting from our fight.”

In June, Harrods’ facilities workers received notification of new guidelines that made it nearly impossible to secure more than two weeks of leave. Despite raising concerns about the unfairness and impracticality of the policy through their union, the luxury store initially ignored the workers’ concerns, with directors and HR personnel stating, “We have to take care of our business; we don’t care.”

Cleaners who had already arranged and paid for their holidays were left scrambling to cancel or change their plans. The company turned down holiday requests longer than two weeks.

Petros Elia, general secretary for UVW, said: “This was a clear case of discrimination against migrant workers, who have always been able to take extended holidays to visit their families. The abandoned policy could have led to a patently absurd and unconscionable situation where none of the facilities’ workers would be able to spend sufficient time with their families who live overseas. The way these cleaners have been treated highlights a broader issue of how a multimillion-pound company for the rich is undermining the welfare of its migrant workforce, an all-too-common occurrence. But their overwhelming vote to strike shows these cleaners were ready to fight and UVW would have supported them like we have done, again and again.”

UVW has a strong history of helping Harrods’ workers; this is UVW’s fourth victory in defending workers’ rights at the store. In 2017, UVW secured 100% of the service charge for chefs and waiters, previously withheld up to 75% by Harrods. In December 2021, restaurant workers won a nearly 25% pay rise, setting a new pay benchmark in the sector. Earlier this year, workers had to threaten to strike again to secure a pay review effective from April 2024.

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