“Hospital cleaners stage one-day strike for London living wage”, 21 March 2016

Those on strike work as cleaners and domestic staff at four mental health facilities run by the South London and Maudsley Trust … But they are employed by Aramark, a multinational company based in the USA that also specialises in selling food and drink at American sports events.

Many of Aramark’s London hospital employees are paid £7.38 an hour, more than £2 below the London living wage set by the Greater London Authority. The workers on this pay rate also have restricted entitlements to sick pay and overtime.

The strikers are calling for changes to those conditions, and a new minimum hourly rate of £10. The GMB union has called the strike after weeks of negotiations with the company failed to result in a resolution. The stoppage will last 24 hours and end at 6am on Tuesday.

… [The] proportion of strikers who are women [is] around 90%. “And they’re predominantly migrant workers, from various African countries, South American countries … and there’s a couple of Eastern European workers.”

The Guardian put these allegations to Aramark via its PR representatives, in addition to questions about the company’s unwillingness to meet its employees’ demands on pay and conditions.

A statement from the company, which is based in Philadelphia, did not address these points. It said: “Aramark is committed to treating all of its employees with respect and dignity. That includes offering competitive wages. It is disappointing that the GMB rejected our fair and comprehensive offer and that some members plan to exercise their right to action in the form of a strike....”