On Friday 12th October cleaners at BMA House did a second Awareness Raising Action outside their prestigious place of work in Tavistock Square. They had already braved the cold autumn wind a week earlier, on Tuesday 2nd October, to raise awareness about their plight and demands.
The British Medical Association (BMA), the registered trade union for one of the best paid groups of workers in the UK, outsources its cleaning contract to Interserve whose bosses pay the cleaners the minimum wage, currently £6.19/hour. The cleaners are demanding the London Living Wage of £8.30/hour.
On Thursday 18th October the cleaners will hold another leafleting session outside BMA House 4-30-6pm. Come and join them. To lift a quote direct from the BMA Homepage: “Joint action and perseverance in the struggle for fair pay and conditions do pay off.”
You can also show your support for the BMA cleaners by signing our Petition at Change.org
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British Medical Association House Cleaners Awareness Campaign
We are calling for a Living Wage and improved working conditions for the cleaners who work at the Head Quarters of the British Medical Association in London.
The cleaner’s employment is outsourced to a contractor (currently Interserve PLC) and they, like far too many Londoners, have been earning poverty wages of £6.19 p/h. They need and deserve the London Living Wage (LLW) of £8.30 p/h. To quote the Mayor of London whose office sets the LLW:
“Londoners deserve proper reward for their labours, and I’m delighted that a growing number of organisations recognise that it suits them as well as their staff to pay the London Living Wage”
The cleaners and their IWW union reps recently met with Interserve management to demand a Living Wage with no job or hours cuts. The BMA are now entering contractual negotiations with Interserve, looking for “value for money”. So far however, the BMA have refused to meet the people who clean their building.
The BMA, as a Trade Union and not for profit organisation, rightly puts their members employment issues at the very heart of what they do and campaign for public support against aggressive attacks (including privatisation and sub-contracting) on the NHS and the pay and condition of medical staff whose proud duty it is to serve the public.
We, as the cleaners Trade Union, believe that it is also in the interests of the BMA (and therefore BMA members) that all those who work for such a highly esteemed organisation (including all outsourced staff), are treated with dignity and fairly rewarded for their labour with a Living Wage. This represents true “value for money” and the BMA should use the current contract negotiations to make it happen.
We call on all BMA members, as medical practitioners, and staff as well as the general public who use the NHS to support the cleaners demand for a Living Wage and access to a healthier life.
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IWW Cleaners and Allied Industries Union – BMA Job Branch
London IWW General Membership Branch
