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14.07.2026 / News / Justice for Cleaners / radisson blu

Radisson Blu housekeepers win landmark union recognition at two UK hotels

“It’s exciting news. Securing this recognition agreement means our employer now has to sit down with us before making any decisions that affect our working lives”

Doris Selenbo, Radisson Blu housekeeper

Outsourced housekeepers at Radisson Blu Canary Wharf and Radisson Blu Euston Square have won statutory trade union recognition through the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), in what is believed to be the first known agreement of its kind covering two hotels within the same chain in the UK.

The victory marks a major breakthrough for outsourced hospitality workers and follows a year of determined organising by UVW members, predominantly migrant women workers from Nepal and India, who transformed workplace frustration into collective power.

The workers, employed by hospitality contractor WGC Ltd, have secured recognition after building strong union membership and demonstrating majority support. As a result, WGC must now negotiate collectively with United Voices of the World (UVW) over key issues including pay, hours and holidays, giving workers a permanent voice in decisions that affect their working lives.

The victory also establishes an important precedent for organising in the fragmented hospitality sector. UVW successfully argued before the CAC that trade union recognition can be achieved on a hotel-by-hotel basis, rather than requiring workers to organise across an entire company. This creates a new pathway for hospitality workers seeking collective bargaining rights in an industry where outsourcing, high staff turnover and insecure work have historically made organising difficult.

The breakthrough follows a historic dispute at Radisson Blu Canary Wharf last summer, when housekeepers became the first hotel workers in England to take strike action in more than 45 years. The workers walked out over poor pay, punishing workloads and cuts to working hours after WGC took over the housekeeping contract. Their strike ended in a complete victory, with the employer conceding every one of their demands.

Inspired by the success of their colleagues at Canary Wharf, housekeepers at Radisson Blu Euston Square organised collectively and secured the same improvements through campaigning and negotiations, without needing to take strike action.

For Doris Selenbo, a Radisson Blu housekeeper for more than 30 years, recognition represents another important step in workers gaining control over their working lives.

“It’s exciting news. Securing this recognition agreement means our employer now has to sit down with us before making any decisions that affect our working lives,” she said.

“We fought for our rights before when we took strike action, and now we’ve won another important step forward. The good thing is that we can work together to solve problems and improve things for everyone.”

Doris said the victory had strengthened workers across both hotels: “The whole team is happy we joined UVW, and seeing the team at Euston Square follow with UVW’s support has made us all even stronger. Most importantly, we are not scared. If something isn’t right, we will speak out.”

Trade union recognition remains uncommon in the UK hospitality sector, which has long been characterised by low pay, excessive workloads and some of the lowest levels of union membership and collective bargaining coverage in the economy.

This victory shows that those barriers can be overcome. Predominantly migrant women workers have built lasting union power, won historic improvements and secured the right to negotiate collectively.

The achievement sends a message across the hospitality industry: workers do not have to accept low pay and insecure conditions as inevitable. When outsourced workers organise, they can win. When migrant women organise, they can change the rules.

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