University of London’s Senate House faces boycott over staff treatment

The University and College Union (UCU) congress has voted to boycott the University of London (UoL)’s Senate House because of its treatment of cleaning, catering and security staff who are not directly employed by the university.

The motion is hoped to pressure the university into bringing in cleaners, caterers and security staff into direct employment, to strengthen their workplace rights and entitlements to benefits that other employees at the university enjoy.

Since September 2017, there has been 17 days of strike action by UoL’s cleaners and security staff, in an attempt to end outsourcing. Calls for a boycott of Senate House, the administrative centre of the UoL, began in December 2018.

Amidst industrial action and student protests in support of the staff, university authorities spent over £400,000 on additional security for two months last year. Video footage published by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), showed strikers being subjected to violence and intimidation by members of security.

Jordi López, a UoL organiser and caseworker, said that its victory would strengthen the position of other UCU members whose rights, including pensions, were denied to them: “It is our belief that victory here at the epicentre of London’s academic hub will not only sound the death knell for outsourcing in the sector, but it will also massively strengthen the position of precarious UCU members denied pensions and other rights.”

Christina Paine, who presented the amendment, said: “I believe that inequality is legitimised by precarious work…Universities should aspire (to be) institutions where every worker has the same terms and conditions.”

Universities routinely invest huge amounts in real estate while neglecting to invest in their staff, forcing us to individually bear the risks imposed by government policy and management decisions

– Dion Georgiou

The resolution of the motion read: “Congress believes the fight for casualised staff in higher education is directly connected to – and empowered by – the struggle of female outsourced workers for equality and justice at our universities.

“Congress resolves to call a boycott of events at the University of London’s central administration until workers are brought in-house.”

Commenting on these recent events, Dion Georgiou, a senior lecturer at the University of Chichester, wrote for The Guardian that outsourcing and precariousness are “rife” across higher education.

He added: “Universities routinely invest huge amounts in real estate while neglecting to invest in their staff, forcing us to individually bear the risks imposed by government policy and management decisions.”

A UoL spokesperson also said: “The university is troubled by the decision made by the UCU Congress to support the boycott of Senate House. We have already implemented the first phase of our facilities management review and brought front of house staff in house earlier this month.

“This and the remainder of the process has been agreed with our recognised unions – UCU and Unison who are both closely involved in the ongoing negotiations. Staff at Senate House have been subject to intimidation and abuse online in relation to the boycott which is completely unacceptable.”