…Cleaning staff at University College London (UCL) went on strike on October 23 following the university’s September announcement of a review on soft services provided by its contractor, Sodexo.

Cleaners formed a picket line outside university buildings from 4 a.m. before gathering again at midday for a solidarity protest, where they were joined by students and university staff demanding that UCL reconsider its proposed changes. The demonstration featured solidarity speeches from both workers and students.

The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), the trade union that organised Thursday’s strike, said that UCL’s proposed changes would cut 195 full-time cleaning roles, affecting predominantly Black and Latin American migrant women.

UCL’s statement, published on September 11, outlined its plans to restructure the cleaning and waste management team to include “more staff on permanent contracts and reduce the number of casual workers and staff on fixed term agreements.”

Although the university acknowledged the likelihood of staff redundancies following the proposed changes, it also explained that the measures are part of UCL’s “strategic goals” to meet recycling targets set out in its Sustainability Strategy, comply with new legislation, and manage its financial resources responsibly….