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IWW London Guildhall Cleaner's Solidarity protest in Birmingham

Russ Spring WMIWW | 08.11.2011 18:57 | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Birmingham

Yesterday West Midlands Industrial Workers of the World staged a two hour picket outside the Birmingham Children's Hospital in support of the IU640 Cleaners Branch protest at Guildhall in London and part of the International Day of Action against SODEXO.



SODEXO have the cleaning contract in London and the catering contract at the Birmingham Children's Hospital. With a banner stating 'Clean Up SODEXO' and through a megaphone, passers-by, staff and visitors at the hospital were all informed of the day of action and the fact that SODEXO make their huge profits from exploiting Cleaning and Catering Staff by paying pitiful wages and using intimidation and bullying to stop workers organising to improve their pay and conditions.
Positioned right outside the hospital entrance the protest soon attracted the attention of the hospital security, press office, estates manager and eventually they bought out a manager from SODEXO, who claimed ignorance of SODEXO's poor reputation and insisted the staff at the hospital were well paid and treated. It turned out that they had been TUPE'd over and so were still under the conditions of their old contracts. The hospital clearly did not like the adverse publicity their catering contractors were bringing them and the SODEXO manager was insistent on not having her photo taken. the SODEXO manager disappeared back into the hospital to a chant of 'SODEXO equals expolitation - They're a scourge across the nation - The Workers wont take anymore - A Living Wage we're fighting for.'

Protestors had no problem handing out their leaflets which were eagerly read by their recipients. As the protest wound up a worker from the hospital came out to talk and agreed to take leaflets into the canteen staff and ensure that they knew of the protest.

Russ Spring WMIWW
- Homepage: http://iww.org.uk/westmids


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  1. about iww — joe hill

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