Roger congratulates Sotheby’s workers who fought to win Living Wage and better working conditions
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Roger warmly applauded the Sotheby’s staff, including cleaners and porters, who formed a union and successfully fought for their right to the London Living Wage and better working conditions.
Volunteer-run trade union United Voices of the World successfully negotiated with Contract Cleaning and Maintenance (London) Limited to achieve a substantial pay rise to the full London Living Wage of £9.15 per hour, and the increase will be backdated to 1 November 2014.
United Voices of the World general secretary, Petros Elia, commented: "Sotheby's is famous for selling masterpieces for millions of pounds, so the contrast with cleaners on poverty wages could hardly be greater. These hardworking people were also subject to a host of other injustices, which are sadly all too common in the cleaning sector, including a cut in hours and pay resulting in more work for less money and aggressive managers who never faced disciplinary sanctions.
"We began by submitting a collective grievance to the contractor, CCML, but this was flippantly dismissed. We then secured an Early Day Motion in Parliament strongly condemning such employment practices and calling on Sotheby's to resolve the dispute. That helped to raise awareness of the cleaners' complaints, as did writing to several hundred of Sotheby's employees. A protest scheduled for Sunday 22 February seems to have been the catalyst for this comprehensive settlement, which was achieved without having to resort to strike action.
Roger was one of the signatories to the EDM. He commented: "The fantastic success of this campaign shows what can be achieved when workers form a union and fight for their rights. I congratulate these workers on having finally gained what they were entitled to all along--a pay packet they can actually live on. It is extremely encouraging to see that workers have the power to take on unfair, exploitative systems and win. I am hopeful that more low-paid workers will be inspired to unionise and demand fair pay, decent working conditions and respect."
