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On the IWGB ‘3 Cosas’ Battle Bus – 2014


On the IWGB ‘3 Cosas’ Battle Bus: On Tuesday 18th January 2014 I acquired up uncharacteristically early and joined a packed rush hour practice into London, one thing I normally wish to keep away from. The bus to Russell Sq. was additionally sluggish, held up in busy site visitors, besides I joined the morning picket on the east gate to the doorway to the Senate Home automobile park earlier than 9am and was taking footage.

On the picket line at Senate Home: Daniel Cooper, Vice-President, ULU, IWGB Department Secretary, Jason Moyer-Lee and Department Chair, Henry Lopez.

It was a vibrant winter morning, however not a lot above freezing and never the sort of day anybody smart would go on an open-top bus experience round London, and although I’d layered up properly for the occasion it was nonetheless chilling.

On the IWGB '3 Cosas' Battle Bus - 2014

However these on the picket line on the second day of the three day strike by the IWGB for union recognition and higher situations had already been there since 5am, starting whereas I used to be nonetheless sleeping in a heat mattress and had been nonetheless in good spirits. Cleaners, upkeep and safety workers who work within the College of London had been joined by pupil leaders and college students from the College. In fact lots of the employees would usually have been at work within the early hours.

On the IWGB '3 Cosas' Battle Bus - 2014

Though these employees work on the college and perform work important for the working of the college, the college doesn’t make use of them. Most low paid employees – cleaners, upkeep and safety workers, catering employees and others – on the College of London are not immediately employed by the College, however work within the College on contracts from contractors.

On the IWGB '3 Cosas' Battle Bus - 2014

Outsourcing these employees permits the College to evade its duties in direction of this important a part of their workforce that suffer from poorer situations and pay and aggressive administration from the contractors that any accountable employer can be ashamed to implement. Most had been solely getting the authorized minimal when it comes to pay, pensions, sick pay and holidays, properly inferior to comparable fellow employees immediately employed by the College.

On the IWGB '3 Cosas' Battle Bus - 2014

Prior to now these precarious workers had belonged, if in any respect, to conventional unions corresponding to Unison, who had taken their charges however finished nothing to enhance their situations, usually seeming to them to solely be involved in preserving the differential between these on the bottom pay and better paid workers.

On the IWGB '3 Cosas' Battle Bus - 2014

It was solely when these employees, a lot of them Spanish-speaking, joined the newly fashioned grass roots union, the Impartial Employees’ Union of Nice Britain, that they had been in a position to obtain some good points due to noisy public protests and robust negotiating by the union which by 2013 had gained them the London Residing Wage, significantly greater than the nationwide minimal wage. They achieved this regardless of each the College of London and the employers refusing to recognise the IWGB, persevering with to recognise the extra compliant Unison to which few if any of those employees belonged.

In 2013, having gained the London Residing Wage and began the now well-known 3 Cosas or “three issues” marketing campaign for sick pay, vacation pay and pensions, in addition to persevering with to press for union recognition.

Daniel Cooper & Alberto Durango

This 3-day strike, following one other strike the earlier November, was the most recent motion on this marketing campaign. Union recognition was significantly essential for these working on the Backyard Halls of residence in Bloomsbury which the college was intending to shut within the coming Summer time. The IWGB was demanding these employees be given precedence for vacancies that come up elsewhere within the college, with desire being given to these with the longer intervals of service, however the employers had been refusing any cooperation.

Ready for us within the driveway was an open-top bus, and after I had been there round an hour a lot of the strikers and supporters boarded this ‘battle bus’ to go on a protest tour of assorted websites in London, with only a small picket remaining. I had been invited to go together with them on high of the bus to take pictures.

“The solar shone on the employees because the bus drove away, adopted by a gaggle of pupil supporters on bicycles. I used to be on the higher deck taking pictures as the employees waved their crimson IWGB flags, chanted and listened to IWGB Department Secretary Jason Moyer-Lee, Department Chair Henry Lopez, President of the Impartial Employees of Nice Britain Alberto Durango, Department Vice-Chair and main member of the three Cosas Marketing campaign Sonia Chura and College of London Union Vice-President Daniel Cooper as they used a robust public handle system to handle the general public and employees concerning the struggle for union recognition for the IWGB and comparable situations of service with immediately employed College of London employees for outsourced employees on the college.

In between the assorted speeches and chants, together with some in each Spanish and translated into English, there was loud music to attract consideration and in addition to maintain the strikers blissful.”

The primary cease was in Cartwright Gardens exterior the College’s Backyard Halls of residence the place there have been a number of speeches from the highest of the bus. In some way we went on to drive previous the Unison headquarters on Euston Highway in each instructions, to booing from lots of the employees, and on the second cross an IWGB flag was caught within the branches of a tree and left flying in entrance of the Unison constructing.

The route had been deliberate to cease exterior the places of work of The Guardian, nevertheless it, like most London buses, was working late because of site visitors congestion, and it continued on to go very noisily by means of Trafalgar Sq. and down Whitehall, earlier than a whole circuit of Parliament Sq. earlier than stopping to allow us to get off exterior the Supreme Courtroom.

There was then a rally on the pavement in entrance of Parliament, with quick speeches by Labour MPs John McDonnell, Andy Burnham and Jeremy Corbyn who had come out to affix us.

We marched to the Embankment and boarded the bus once more for a brief journey, leaving the bus simply across the nook from the Royal Opera Home, the place everybody stored quiet as we approached the constructing after which rushed in. The IWGB had been campaigning there for a while for the London Residing Wage.

That is one other office the place the administration had refused to recognise and have talks with the IWGB, preferring to recognise Unison. The IWGB had been confronted there by the Unison Well being & Security rep who advised them the administration had now agreed to pay cleaners the Residing Wage however hadn’t but advised them. Likely this was one other victory for the protests by the IWGB, although in fact he refused to acknowledge this.

We piled again onto the bus and went to the places of work of the brand new employer of the outsourced employees, Cofely GDF-Suez, who had taken over from Balfour Beatty Office in December. Police had been there and the back and front gates had been each locked. The employees held a quick rally exterior the gate in Torrens Place.

I used to be invited to return on the bus to a late lunch with the employees on the Elephant & Fortress – nevertheless it was already after 2pm and I didn’t relish the considered one other lengthy bus experience. So I mentioned goodbye and commenced my journey house to work on and file a few of the many footage I had taken over the day.

You’ll be able to learn extra about this in posts on My London Diary, the place there are additionally many extra footage.
‘3 Cosas’ Strike Picket
3 Cosas’ Strike Picket and Battle Bus
IWGB at Parliament
IWGB in Royal Opera Home
IWGB at Cofely GDF-Suez


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