As workers and students at UAL, we support the cleaners who are calling to be brought back in house. We do not think it is acceptable that the workers who look after the areas in which we work and study are employed by a separate company on poorer terms and conditions. It is not right that these cleaners receive 10 days less holiday per year, little or no sick pay, and poorer pensions than those directly employed by UAL. The majority of these cleaners are migrant and BAME workers and the inequality that they are subject to severely undermines the Universities’ stated commitment to social justice.

Since being outsourced these cleaners have been moved from unaccountable company to unaccountable company (OCS, Mitie, Office & General, Bouygues). Each time they have seen their working conditions deteriorate without intervention from UAL. Most recently Bouygues have increased their workload, and brought about changes to working patterns and locations without consultation. These changes have caused a great deal of stress to the cleaners and have negatively impacted the quality of cleaning across the university. In addition to this, the cleaners right to take continuous leave has been restricted by Bouygues: this disproportionately affects migrant workers, of whom many are now unable to visit family abroad as a result of these changes.

In some cases the conditions have deteriorated so much that as much as 13 cleaners at one site (CSM) have resigned. Bouygues have refused to replace these employees and have instead demanded the existing cleaners increase their workloads. This is typical of outsourcing practices: drive down the conditions of workers and with it the quality of the service. Even the cost-saving argument for outsourcing does not stack up; in 2015 an APSE [Association for Public Service Excellence] report commissioned by SOAS  - who have since brought their cleaners back in house - showed that in-housing the cleaners would in fact be cost neutral.

We believe that UAL can and should end the two-tier outsourcing model by following the recent example of SOAS, Goldsmiths, and King’s College London and committing to bring these workers back in house immediately. These mostly migrant and BAME workers within UAL are currently on poorer terms and conditions than direct employees: this inequality has to end.

The very first statement of values in the 2015-2022 UAL Strategy documents claims that: “We uphold the values of social justice and environmental stewardship through our teaching and research, as well as in the way we live, work and conduct our operations”. It is time to put these principles into practice.

End outsourcing at UAL.