UoL students disrupt filming to protest unfair working conditions

On November 7th 2017, students disrupted the filming of a television programme at the Senate House building to protest unfair wages, outsourced contracts, and insecure hours for UoL workers.

In support of the Back In House campaign run by the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB), students chanted and dropped flyers detailing the abuses UoL workers face.

The IWGB are calling for an end to outsourcing of essential services, for outsourced workers to be made direct employees of the university and an end to zero-hours contracts. They are also demanding that all workers be put on permanent hours, with promised pay rises to security officers, receptionists, porters and post-room workers.

This protest was organised in the lead up to a strike and protest on November 21st to mark the visit of UoL’s chancellor, Princess Anne.

“Students taking action in solidarity was key in the successful campaigns to end outsourcing at SOAS and LSE” said UCL Masters student Anabel Bennett.

She continued: “These disputes can be won, but students and community supporters need to get involved. We should view workers rights as a student issues. The market forces within our education systems that are keeping our students services underfunded and our rents high are the same causes that are exploiting the uni’s workers.”

Justine Canady, Student Union UCL’s Womens Officer said: “It is no coincidence that these low paid and precarious workers are more likely to be BME migrants. Migrant workers are systematically pushed into this type of casualized work, with the women workers facing particular forms of gendered abuse; the situation at UoL is no different.

“But now these workers are organizing and leading the fight against outsourcing and abuses in London unis. And feminists and migrant rights activists need to be actively campaigning in solidarity for the rights of these workers and others like them.”

Student’s Union UCL have officially stated their support for the campaign.

To find out more, visit the campaign’s Facebook page.