Alex Chapman, Oxford Socialist Party
On 29 May, all but two of the Oxford Jobcentre security guards went on strike. A picket line formed, GMB union flags were raised and the Jobcentre was forced to shut its doors for the day.
This strike accompanies many others across the country; all resisting the gross profiteering of the private security company G4S. G4S was contracted by the DWP to provide security for Jobcentres and given £211 million to do so. However, while G4S receives £35 an hour for each guard, the guards themselves only receive minimum wage. This is despite the fact that they have to deal with frequent physical and verbal abuse. Furthermore, the guards are expected to fund their own training. One guard revealed to me that, shockingly, while their basic one-day first aid course is paid for, they have had to pay for every other training course demanded of them. They aren’t even reimbursed for travel expenses!
Clearly, change is vital. GMB has demanded a pay increase to £13 an hour for their members, plus backpay. Though this would be a welcome improvement for the security guards, some of whom are currently having to work second jobs, it is worth remembering that this would only bring their wages in line with those already offered by G4S to guards employed via an agency. Ultimately, we should question the need for G4S as a middleman: were the DWP to employ security guards directly, the £35 an hour per guard they currently pay G4S could instead be used to directly pay the guards themselves.
However, G4S is refusing to budge, even when facing GMB’s mild, easily actionable demands. In response, GMB has organised week-long strikes, every other week. Having been on the picket line, I am confident that the guards shall force concessions from G4S. The guards I met were aware of both the value and power their labour held, and they looked towards future strike action with hope and determination.
Breaking: PCS members working as security guards in jobcentres have also voted to strike and will join their GMB workmates in a 7-day strike from midnight on 17th June
