01.06.2026 / Press releases /

Migrant cleaners at south London school Ark Global Academy to be balloted for strike action  

• Outsourced migrant cleaners are fighting to reinstate the full London Living Wage (LLW).
• The cleaners won the annual increase in 2020 and this year from 1 April 2026 they received a partial uplift.
• Workers also report ongoing payroll errors that have led to grievances, meetings and promises over a four-month period, but little meaningful action.
• Contractor Atlas Cleaning Limited has said it cannot fully implement the LLW increase due to contractual terms with Ark Globe Academy.
• Ark Globe Academy’s outsourced cleaners earn £14.27 per hour whilst Ark’s chief executive Lucy Heller receives annual remuneration of £216,300 per annum.
• This dispute is the latest in a long-running pattern at Ark Global Academy, where outsourced migrant cleaners have faced repeated instability after being transferred between contractors under TUPE. 

The cleaners, members of United Voices of the World (UVW) employed by subcontractor Atlas Cleaning Limited, successfully fought to secure the London Living Wage in 2020 and have received it consistently for the past five years. The cleaners say they were shocked to discover that the full April 2026 increase would not be implemented for the first time in five years. Instead, they received only a partial uplift to £14.27 per hour, while months of payroll errors and delayed wage corrections have left many struggling to pay rent, bills and basic living costs.

UVW members have also raised concerns about a sickness reporting process, which includes references to possible disciplinary action. Many cleaners are also asking for updated contracts to reflect their agreed working hours, which currently are not formally recorded. 

UVW says repeated attempts to resolve the payroll and sick pay issues directly with Atlas Cleaning have led to grievances, meetings and promises over a four-month period, but little meaningful action.

Atlas Cleaning has informed UVW that it cannot fully implement the 2026 London Living Wage increase because of contractual arrangements with Ark Globe Academy.

Ark Globe Academy has told UVW that it decided “to pause alignment to the Real Living Wage for this financial year” due to wider financial pressures across the organisation and education sector.

According to publicly available accounts, Ark chief executive Lucy Heller received annual remuneration of £216,300, in comparison with the school cleaners who earn £14.27.

Maria, a school cleaner, UVW member and single mother of two, said:

“We are workers who keep this service running through our daily effort, waking up at 4:00 in the morning, enduring exhausting shifts and an ever-increasing workload. While we sacrifice our health and family life for this job, the company continues to ignore our demands, impacting our families’ livelihoods.

For months, we have lived with the constant anxiety of not knowing whether we will be paid correctly, whether money will be missing from our wages, or whether we will once again have to fight for salaries we have already earned through our hard work. This is not an isolated mistake — we believe it reflects a systematic lack of respect toward the people who do the hardest and lowest-paid work.

We have been patient. We have followed procedures, submitted complaints, and given the company every opportunity to put things right. 

We are not asking for privileges. We are demanding dignity, fair wages, correct pay, and decent working conditions. And we will not remain silent while our families continue to suffer the consequences of this injustice. Enough is enough!”

Nelly Ospino, UVW General Secretary, said:

“These cleaners are already among the lowest-paid workers in the school. They cannot absorb missing wages, payroll mistakes or delays to pay that they rely on to survive. Every penny matters when you are living from month to month. The lowest-paid workers are effectively being asked to shoulder the burden of financial pressures while others higher up the organisation remain protected. There appears to be one standard for directly employed staff and another for outsourced migrant cleaners — despite both contributing to the same school community every day. Outsourcing continues to create a two-tier workforce where migrant workers are treated as disposable and denied the dignity, security and respect they deserve. These workers are standing up not only for their own livelihoods, but against a system that too often balances budgets on the backs of low-paid migrant labour.” 

For further information, contact the UVW communications team:       

Isabel: 07706 987443   

Cristina: 07548 759340   

Email: comms@uvwunion.org.uk

About UVW         

United Voices of the World (UVW) is a grassroots union representing low-paid, insecure, and predominantly migrant and BAME workers, including cleaners, concierges, couriers, carers, and hospitality staff across London.  

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