Old Bailey cleaning staff strike over privatisation

Cleaning staff at the Old Bailey have gone on strike this week after they were told of a City of London Corporation ‘privatisation plan’.

Earlier this year cleaners at the Central Criminal Court received a letter from OCS Commercial Cleaning Services informing them of a TUPE (transfer of undertakings (protection of employment) transfer.

According to the Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union (CAIWU), the staff were not informed or consulted about the transfer beforehand. The City of London Corporation, which owns and manages the Old Bailey, said cleaning staff and trade unions are being consulted.

Twenty-one CAIWU members have taken industrial action standing outside the court buildings with placards and CAIWU flags in a bid to ‘put pressure on the London Corporation to reverse their privatisation plan’.

Alberto Durango, general secretary of CAIWU, said: ‘For workers privatisation means less pay, less holiday and poor terms and conditions. People think that a new company cannot make changes but hire and fire is still legal, and companies do make changes on a take it or leave your job basis.

‘If the London Corporation proceed to sell our members to a new company, that new company will inherit the dispute and the problem. We intend to continue to strike with the new company and to disrupt their business at the Old Bailey and other workplaces in the City of London. We are not going away, our noisy protests and pickets will stay.’

A City of London Corporation spokesperson said the proposed transfer to OCS would have a ‘range of benefits, including improved cleaning services and access to industry best practice’.

During the strike, full-service staffing cover is being delivered through a ‘facilities management partner to ensure that the court is being cleaned and maintained to the usual high standards’, he said.

He added: ‘As a responsible employer, the proposed move is fair and compliant with industry standards and fully adheres to the legal obligations and protections provided by TUPE regulations. Cleaning staff and trade unions are being consulted, and TUPE regulations ensure that all employees will retain their current terms and conditions of permanent employment, including salary, working hours, length of service, and holiday entitlements.

‘There are no plans for redundancies, and staff will continue to deliver the cleaning service to the Central Criminal Court without interruption.’

‘Employees who are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme will remain in the pension scheme and continue to accumulate benefits under their existing LGPS arrangements with all rights and future benefits legally protected.’

The transfer to OCS is expected to take place next Wednesday.