DEMONSTRATION

Date: Friday 31 of July

Time: 13h00

Where: The Willis Building, 51 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7DQ. For the ones who don’t know the location, we will be at 12h30 in front of McDonalds at Liverpool Street station

Contact: 0790432679 or 07837949884
Cleaners campaign successes are being clawed back in a series of attacks on those who have fought for improved wages and conditions. immigration_raid_hays_us.jpgThe latest victims are a group of cleaners who work for the services company Mitie. They were asked to come to the site of Willis Insurance brokers for a chemicals training course but instead were met by immigration officers. Nine cleaners: Alejandro, Hermes Ayala, José Sorriso, Karina Cruz, Cintia, Sonia and Sebastián Desolsa and two others were detained. See personal testimony below.
This action is in the wake of months of weekly protests organised by a group of former Mitie cleaners and their supporters including shop steward Edwin Pazmino, who were sacked for refusing to work a longer night shift.
Lancaster, another cleaning company has also seen fit to try to rid its ranks of trade union activists. On May 7 2009 Alberto Durango, a Justice for Cleaners activist was invited to the company under false pretences and arrested by police and immigration officers. After handcuffing him, searching his home and confiscating political material, his papers were found to be in order and he was eventually released with a warning.

Next it was the early morning SOAS raid, the timing of which coincided with the fierce struggle of José Stalin Bermúdez, a UNISON branch chair and former cleaner at SOAS who was sacked again under false pretences by the company ISS after he helped cleaners fight against poverty pay.
These are but a few examples of a stepped-up campaign by companies to get rid of fighting workers – by any means necessary. Yes, the cleaners are from different sites, the unions involved may vary, but the issue remains the same. Cleaners who fight to improve their conditions – eventually come under attack.

TESTIMONY OF A WILLIS/MITIE CLEANER TAKEN BY A DETAINED ACTIVIST AT YARLS WOOD REMOVAL CENTRE:
Her name is Lidia, and she said that at 4am there was going to be a meeting about chemicals in the Willis building, and that at 5 in the morning in the basement they would be given times for day-time and early morning shifts. She says that she had an ominous feeling about the timing of these meetings. When she arrived in this room, the manager Donna Sidley and another woman called Ivon were laughing their heads off. Everyone started coming in, with the illegal workers on one side and the legal immigrants on the other – the undocumented workers already separated out – and Donna took a chemical bottle and said for what purpose this or that bottle served.
Everyone was looking around at each other, some asking each other what was happening and why she was asking all this, and the legal workers on the other side of the room were only looking amongst themselves, knowing that immigration were coming to seize their own workmates, and said nothing. But they did tell the undocumented workers that there was a table full of drinks, things to eat and coffee, and they thought it was for them.
Not even 15 minutes had passed when police started to enter from doors on either side of the room, saying from immigration. No-one moved. One of the police had a file, which only had the names of the illegal workers and photocopies of their documents, but not the names of the legal workers. They called the workers’ names one by one and interrogated them, saying where they had got the documents and where they lived. Many people were crying as they were told off and insulted, and all the while Donna was smiling and jokily making comments to the other police, who smiled too. They insulted the workers and wouldn’t let them leave their seats, and they threatened those who were crying. They then forced them to sign papers which they had not even read: many did not want to, but they insulted them and frightened them, making them scared. They did not know what they were signing. The legal workers were allowed to leave but the others were left behind without being allowed to go to the toilet. Lidia was crying and said that she felt that a policeman was shouting at her aggressively, telling her to shut up.
Then the police went over to eat and have the coffee and other drinks, making comments and laughing enthusiastically, making fun of the workers, and Donna and the other woman were also making fun of them, and all the time smiling. The workers watched them eating and enjoying making fun of them, and they would not let them talk, only to stay silent. No-one gave them even a glass of water even though it was almost 11am by now: the police were enjoying themselves with the manager and gave the workers nothing to eat.
Then they were taken away and put in two vans. The black workers were separated from them: the others do not know what happened to them next. They were taken to London Bridge, and then Lidia travelled throughout the whole day, to Liverpool. There, at 2am, they took her to the detention centre. She knew two women there. One woman was released because her husband had papers; the other was deported.

"We demand the reinstatement of the dismissed Workers"

"Pay of the salaries, and holidays for the detained workers"


LONDON PUBLIC MEETING ON TUESDAY AUGUST 4
A public meeting has been called by the Labour Representation Commitee on Tuesday 4th August to discuss solidarity with cleaners in struggle and affected by raids. Download pdf leaflet here.

Tuesday 4th August, 6:30pm
Somerstown Community Centre, 150 Ossulston Street, London, NW1 1EE, (5 minutes from Euston Station)

JOHN MCDONNELL - MP for Hayes & Harlington
JEREMY DEAR - president NUJ
ALBERTO DURANGO - activist of Unite in Lancaster
CLARA OSAGIEDE - cleaners grade secretary of RMT (Underground)
GILL GEORGE - Executive Council de Unite (pc)
CLEANERS OF SOAS UNISON - rep
CLEANERS OF MITIE / WILLIS - rep

No-one is illegal, papers for all!

Venceremos! We will win!

Get organised!
Together we are stronger!