The Socialist 9 August 2016

Stand firm for socialism

#KeepCorbyn: stand firm for socialism

Liverpool: Corbyn slams "politics of the elite"

Wallasey Labour meet in resistance to the Blairites

Mood for unity but not with right-wing Labour infiltrators

Thousands attend Corbyn rally in Cornwall

Bristol: Jeremy Corbyn wins support from young people

Hull: Jeremy Corbyn rally the biggest for 20 years

Jeremy Corbyn attracts 1,000 in York

Fresh bank crash looms

No to new grammars

Fight to defend HIV drug victory

UK wage drop as bad as Greece

Privatised medical record chaos

Them & Us

Grunwick strike 40 years on - lessons of an epic battle

Fawley strike defeats 'race to bottom' exploitation of migrant workers

Low paid cleaners declare victory after 58 days on strike

Samworth Brothers step up bullying and intimidation of workers

Communication Workers Union backs Jeremy Corbyn

HMY Radford shopfitters strike against penny-pinching company

South Wales NUM supports Jeremy Corbyn

Paul Reilly for RMT EC

2011 riots: An outpouring of anger at the system

Axe the Housing Act: 'We can't pay, we'll organise and we'll stay'

Great reception in Hackney for Chicago 'Black Lives Matter' socialist

South London #BlackLivesMatter protest marches on Downing Street

Leeds Pride 2016: Pride must be political!

Sanctioned - a victim of government callousness

Food waste - the logic of capitalism

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Wood Street cleaners' strike, 21 June 2016

Wood Street cleaners' strike, London, 21 June 2016 (Click to enlarge)

Low paid cleaners in City of London declare strike victory

Rob Williams, chair of NSSN, and Socialist Party executive member

The Socialist Party and the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) salute the victory of members of the United Voices of the World union after 58 days of indefinite strike action at 100 Wood Street in the City of London.

The main demand of the low-paid cleaners, who are mainly from Latin America, was for the London Living Wage, which was finally conceded after the 43rd strike day. But by that day, four workers had been made redundant by cleaning contractor Thames Cleaning, operating the cleaning contract for property firm CBRE. So one of the main outstanding demands of the then continuing indefinite strike was the reinstatement of the two remaining workers that still reside in the UK.

This has been a heroic struggle of a small group of migrant workers in one of the most affluent areas of one of the richest cities in the world. It has shone a light onto the class and wealth polarisation in modern-day capitalist London.

Rob Williams (left) with100 Wood Street cleaners on strike, 27 June 2016

Rob Williams (left) with Wood Street cleaners on strike, 27 June 2016 (Click to enlarge)

As the bankers and bond dealers make huge profits, they use offices and toilets cleaned by low-paid workers from every corner of the world, who have been up from the early hours of the morning and who are often also working another job to make ends meet.

The picket line actually meant that at 100 Wood Street at least, they had to walk past what are usually faceless workers!

The dispute has been an inspiration for trade unionists everywhere and has in turn received support all round the UK and internationally. At the typically lively and loud protest on 27th July to mark the 50th strike day, I read out a letter of support from the Athens bus cleaners who themselves had won a victory the previous week, aided by a global solidarity campaign.

The strikers had a rapturous reception at the NSSN annual conference on 2nd July. It is a disgrace that it took another month for Thames and CBRE to settle the dispute but its successful resolution will be celebrated throughout the trade union movement.

This version of this article was first posted on the Socialist Party website on 5 August 2016 and may vary slightly from the version subsequently printed in The Socialist.

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