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25.06.2025 / News /

West End Quays concierge and cleaners to strike in July against surveillance, intimidation and punitive pay policy

• Workers at luxury apartment complex in West London, who are members of United Voices of the World trade union, will strike from 7 to 11 July for a second time in two years

• Bosses accused of bullying, unlawful surveillance, draconian performance related pay policies and trying to rip up collective bargaining agreements 

• Bosses are also facing a near six figure lawsuit from the workers after allegedly breaching statutory legislation around collective bargaining 

• Managing Director of WEQ, David Groves, had to be physically restrained by a Trustee after aggressive outbursts during pay talks on 20th June

Cleaners and concierge at West End Quays luxury apartments in West London will walk out on strike on July 7, standing up to what they say is an aggressive and union-busting agenda from management.

The workers, all members of United Voices of the World (UVW) union, are fighting the attempted imposition of performance-related pay, the unlawful use of CCTV surveillance and a culture of bullying and abuse of disciplinary processes.

Tensions exploded on June 19, when talks with management collapsed in chaos, with Managing Director David Groves needing to be physically restrained by a member of the Board of Trustees following a series of aggressive outbursts. The shocking incident has only confirmed workers’ belief that the bullying and intimidation at WEQ starts at the very top.

After a hard-fought strike in 2023, cleaners and concierge at West End Quays won a significant pay rise and formal union recognition.

Now, management is attempting to roll back those gains. West End Quay RTM Company Ltd is attempting to push through a performance-related pay scheme that would rip up the legally binding collective bargaining agreement and rip up a decades-long contractual right to pay increases in line with inflation. 

WEQ previously tried to implement a PRP scheme that could have resulted in some workers getting a 0% pay rise for the rest of their working lives at WEQ. 

The workers are also demanding parity of sick pay and annual leave entitlements between all staff.

Arshed Ali, WEQ Concierge of 14 years:

“In my 14 years working at WEQ I’ve never been called into a disciplinary or had any resident complain about my work. But now, I’ve been disciplined twice in a few months for minor things and know that I am being watched all the time, like a criminal. It’s taking a toll on my mental health. I can’t even check on my family, say goodnight, or look at my bank balance without feeling anxious. My heart races every time I pick up my phone, even when no one is around.  It feels like management is being selective — like they take turns reviewing footage just to find something to hold against us, sometimes months later.

This isn’t just happening to me. It’s happening to several of us — and we’re all union members.

I’ve worked in prisons before and think that some inmates are treated with more respect than the concierge at WEQ. This is why we are striking.”

Franco Lombardo, WEQ Concierge of 23 years:

“As one of WEQ’s longest serving staff I have never witnessed such poor leadership. For over two decades we had an employer who treated us with respect and dignity. 

Since January 2024, after our strike action and community support helped us win our in-housing campaign and a payrise, the new employer RTM promised fairness, transparency and alignment of the same terms and conditions for all staff. Despite our efforts to build a co-operation between WEQ RTM and our trade union, UVW, things are just getting worse and worse 

Just one example is that in September 2024 a new 37-page Standard Operating Procedure manual were created which was less of a protocol and felt more like a tool for targeting and punishing long serving concierges and members of UVW union.

We have experienced a toxic workplace environment where it seems everyone is constantly being watched during their shifts. We have been accused of not doing our job properly and stopped from using our mobiles phones to speak to our family or call our doctors or banks. 

They are also refusing to give us a pay rise in line with inflation and are trying to get us to agree to allow management to decide what our pay rise should be including from as little as 1% – and without any negotiation with the union,

Now we say enough is enough which is why we have called strike action as this heartless and selfish behaviour must stop.

We are calling all the leaseholders that know us and the quality of our work to take a stand against this unacceptable bullying , harassment and abuse by the RTM management!”

Petros Elia, UVW general secretary, said:

“This is an attack on everything these workers fought so hard to win. Management’s refusal to negotiate in good faith, to discipline workers for minor infractions, to unlawfully use CCTV surveillance to try and build disciplinary cases, to bully and intimidate and try and circumvent collective bargaining agreements and award some workers 0% pay increases is repugnant and unacceptable and will be defeated.

Nearly all the workers are from BAME and migrant backgrounds – unlike the management team – and when the Managing Director speaks to them they sometimes report feeling like they are being spoken to with so much disrespect and condescension that it verges on what they imagine some colonial masters spoke to their servants like. 

These workers know more about WEQ and how to do their job than management ever will and they need to be left alone to do it. They fought and won before, and they’re ready to do it again.”

For more information contact the UVW comms team.

Isabel: 07706 987443

Cristina: 07548 759340

E-mail: comms@uvwunion.org.uk   

Notes for editors

United Voices of the World is an anti-racist, member-led, direct action, campaigning trade union and we exist to support and empower the most vulnerable groups of precarious, low-paid and predominantly BAME and migrant workers in the UK. We fight the bosses through direct action on the streets and through the courts and demand that all members receive at least the London Living Wage, full pay, sick pay, dignity, equality and respect.

ENDS 

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