A strike campaign by cleaning workers at John Lewis' flagship store in London's Oxford Street has forced bosses to back off from a cuts plan, as well as winning wage increases for workers.
Cleaning contractor ICM (part of the Compass Group) had been planning to make compulsory cuts to cleaning workers' hours, meaning a loss of pay, as well as making compulsory redundancies. The workers' strikes have succeeded in halting the cuts plan. Not a single worker will now face redundancy.
Although the key demand of the strike, to win a pay increase to the London Living Wage of £8.30 per hour, has not yet been met, the cleaners have won a 10% pay increase.
Their union, the Industrial Workers of Great Britain (an offshoot of the Industrial Workers of the World), says that winning the living wage remains "the key objective", and that the confidence and momentum gained from the victories over cuts will help galvanise an ongoing campaign against poverty pay.
IWGB press release, for info
The dispute of cleaners at the John Lewis Partnership’s flagship at Oxford Street store has ended with significant success for the workers who took strike action in July.
The members of the IWW Cleaners' Branch announced a resounding mandate from its members to take strike action, the strike ballot had an 80% turnout with 90% voting in favour of industrial action.
The cleaner took strike action on 13th July and on 20th July in protest at a planned cuts in jobs and hours, a further strike set for Thursday 26th July as the Olympic Torch passed the store was cancelled following fresh talks with the cleaning contractor ICM (Compass Group) and the facilities company MML hired by John Lewis Partnership.
Our union has reached an agreement with the employers that members have voted to accept that has halted the compulsory cuts in jobs and hours for the cleaners. Chris Ford Secretary of the cleaners union Industrial Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) said: ‘First 50% of cleaners hours were to be cut, then nearly a third of the work-force were to be made redundant, now after a courageous struggle not a single cleaner at John Lewis Oxford street will be forced to loose their job. In an age of austerity this is no small achievement’.
In addition to defending their jobs, the cleaners at John Lewis turned the situation of cuts around to one where they have secured a 10% pay increase backdated to the start of the contract in March 2012 with increased shift allowances. Hours of work have been re-organised to reduce the excessive shifts cleaners’ workers, some being available for work during unpaid breaks.
Whilst considering the pay and allowance increases a significant step forward from the £6.08 per-hour cleaners earned the IWGB consider it still a stepping-stone towards the London Living Wage of £8.30 per-hour set by the Greater London Authority. Defending jobs does not mean the Living Wage has ceased to be a key objective. In recent months, the IWGB has increased in membership of cleaners across the John Lewis stores and many workers are looking for real change. Cleaners now know they can win; the IWGB will be holding the John Lewis Partnership and its contractors to account in the coming months with regard to the ongoing discussions to lift the cleaners out of poverty pay.
The John Lewis Partnership and its sub-contractors need to take note of the widespread solidarity the cleaner gained from across the Labour Movement. Steve Hedley, Assistant General Secretary of RMT and Chris Baugh, Assistant General Secretary of the PCS both addressed pickets at John Lewis, Chris said: "The PCS fully supports the John Lewis workers' demand for the living wage. Employers who sub-contract poverty pay, like the government and John Lewis, need to be both exposed and taken on." Twenty-four MP’s signed an Early Day Motion 301 submitted by John McDonnell MP showing their support for the John Lewis Cleaners, many writing directly to Charlie Mayfield, John Lewis Chairman.
The IWGB extends heartfelt thanks to all the members of the labour movement who gave solidarity to the cleaners and the countless customers of John Lewis who wrote in support of the cleaners struggle.
http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/commercial_sector/cs-news-and-events/solidarit…
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/a-new-dawn-john-lewis-cleaners-strike/
http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/301
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/knowingly-underpaid-joh…
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/a-new-dawn-john-lewis-cleaners-strike/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/video/2012/jul/13/john-lewis-cleaner…
INDUSTRIAL UNIONISM A NEW FORCE IN THE BRITISH LABOUR MOVEMENT
Building on its recent successes in a series of disputes with employers the IWW London Regional Committee has in conjunction with a range of other members of the labour movement taken the decision to re-launch as the Industrial Workers of the Great Britain. The IWGB was originally founded in January 1909 with the aim of creating a new force in the British labour movement the re-launched IWGB adheres to the same goals advanced then – ‘the immediate object of the Industrial Workers of Great Britain is to build up a militant Industrial Union’.
The IWGB sets as a goal organising the unorganised with its militant organising drive a springboard for future expansion.
The IWGB recognises we live in tough times - austerity policies are reducing our standard of living. Everywhere employers are seeking to maximise their profits by job cuts, making people work harder, longer and paying them as little as possible. But there is an alternative. Our union stands on the principle to get workplace justice. Solidarity wins!
IWGB is an independent union. We are a voluntary association of workers fighting only for the interests of workers. We are not in ‘partnership’ with bosses, held back by bureaucrats or pleasing establishment politicians.
WINNING A FUTURE FOR HUMANITY
Such is the scale of the problems we face today we cannot afford to address them separately - piecemeal solutions are not enough because these problems are a product of the system we live under. This dog eat dog system cannot work in the interests of the majority. Industrial unionism links the struggles of today with the need for a new society fit for human beings. This ideal has nothing in common with the totalitarian ‘communism’ proclaimed in Russia and China! Or even the old Labour Party model of state-ownership. We want more freedom and democracy not dominated by party bosses and state bureaucrats. We seek a co-operative, sustainable society that puts a decent life for people before profits, for democratic self-management and social ownership, instead of control of our lives by corporations and their politicians.
Despite the many problems working class people face, the potential to change things for the better is within our reach, but we can only do it if we organise together. Join the fighting union for the 21st century.
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