Eni receives approval for Geng North and Gehem gas projects in Indonesia

These approvals pave the way for the establishment of a new production hub, known as the Northern Hub, in the Kutei Basin

Staff Writer 26th Aug 2024

Indonesian authorities approve Eni’s POD for Geng North and Gehem gas projects. (Credit: QR9iudjz0 on Freeimages.com)

Eni has received approval from Indonesian authorities for the plan of development (POD) for its Geng North (North Ganal PSC) and Gehem (Rapak PSC) fields, as well as the Gendalo and Gandang fields (Ganal PSC).

These approvals pave the way for the establishment of a new production hub, known as the Northern Hub, in the Kutei Basin. Additionally, Eni has been granted a 20-year extension for the Indonesia deepwater development (IDD) licences covering the Ganal and Rapak blocks.

With these approvals, Eni is set to significantly enhance its production capabilities in the East Kalimantan region, targeting approximately two billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of gas and 80,000 barrels per day (bopd) of condensates.

This production will supply both domestic and international markets, leveraging existing infrastructure in the region, including the Bontang LNG plant and the Jangkrik floating production unit (FPU).

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said: “The approval of the Northern Hub and Gendalo & Gandang Plans of Development by the Indonesian authorities marks a crucial milestone towards the final investment decision (FID) for both gas projects, aligning with our decarbonisation and energy security strategy.

“The establishment of a new production hub in the Kutei Basin represents a significant shift for Eni in Indonesia. This outcome is the result of a consistent strategy that combines our exploration expertise with the acquisition of IDD and Neptune assets, providing us with a strong leadership position in a world-class basin, close to existing facilities and major markets.”

The Northern Hub POD includes the development of five trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas and 400 million barrels of condensates from the Geng North discovery, which Eni announced in October 2023.

The project also involves the development of the 1.6 TCF Gehem discovery through subsea wells, flowlines, and a newly constructed floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit.

This FPSO will have the capacity to process approximately one billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of gas and 80,000 barrels of condensates per day, with storage for one million barrels. Gas processed on the FPSO will be transported via pipelines to onshore facilities at Santan terminal and integrated into the East Kalimantan pipeline network.

Part of the gas will be liquefied at the Bontang LNG facility, with the remainder supplied to the domestic market. The FPSO will also stabilise and store condensates for evacuation via shuttle tankers.

In addition, the approved Gendalo and Gandang POD will develop two TCF of gas reserves in the Ganal PSC using subsea wells connected to the Jangkrik FPU. This development is expected to extend the Jangkrik gas production plateau, currently at approximately 750 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d), by at least 15 years.

These developments result from Eni’s partnership with SKK Migas and are anticipated to have a substantial impact on local content. They will also increase the utilisation of the Bontang LNG plant’s capacity, ensuring a consistent supply of gas for domestic consumption.

Eni plans to undertake a drilling campaign over the next four to five years to explore the near-field potential within its operated blocks in the Kutei Basin. The area is estimated to hold over 30TCF of gas, with risks significantly mitigated following the Geng North discovery.

The Italian oil and gas firm operates the North Ganal Block – Geng North field with an 83.3% participating interest, while Agra Energi holds the remaining 16.7%. In the Ganal and Rapak blocks, Eni holds an 82% participating interest, with Tip Top as a partner holding the remaining 18%.

Last week, Eni closed the previously announced $783m sale of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to Oando, a Nigeria-based energy solutions provider.

 

What Went Wrong For Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider?

August 26, 2024 By Reuters

Mark Schneider, Nestlé's recently ousted CEO, steered the world's biggest food maker through the COVID-19 pandemic, grew margins despite a subsequent supply chain crunch, and pulled off a historic reorganisation.

So when did he lose the board's faith?

While Nestlé declined to comment on the nature of his departure when announcing it on Thursday, and Schneider did not respond to a request to do so, three sources told Reuters on Friday that the executive had been axed.

One source said the decision was reached after Nestlé's board became increasingly concerned about weak sales growth. They also cited worries about slowing product development, with new and revamped products taking longer to be devised and rolled out.

Changing Perceptions

"Two years ago, Mark Schneider could do nothing wrong; now he seems to get it all wrong," Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said, flagging a drop in Nestlé's stock, which has slid roughly 30% since its pandemic high in early 2022.

But, "is that a good reason to break up with a CEO that was only two years ago feted as the best CEO in the sector?" Monteyne asked.

Schneider, 58, in 2017 became the first company outsider to lead the maker of KitKat bars and Nescafe coffee in nearly a century. Its stock peaked during his tenure, tapping a record of CHF 129.5 (€136.82) at the start of 2022.

That year, he led an overhaul of the Swiss company, changing its executive board to align with a new geographic structure.

Where rivals like PepsiCo and Unilever were not able to sustain operating margin growth in the seven years to 2023, Schneider grew Nestlé's to 17.3% from 16.5%.

This feat was particularly remarkable, given the hit industry margins took during the pandemic.

But the board's concerns about sluggish sales volumes and underinvestment are not unfounded, and have been raised repeatedly in calls with analysts and investors in recent years.

Slow Growth

Nestlé has posted patchy sales growth through Schneider's nearly eight-year tenure in comparison to some of its competitors, losing the momentum it gained during the pandemic by alienating shoppers with too-high prices in 2023.

It and the rest of the consumer goods industry hiked prices dramatically in the face of sky-rocketing supply chain and raw materials costs, fuelling a global cost-of-living crisis.

In response to a question during his final post-results call in July, Schneider acknowledged that supply chain constraints in 2022 had left "less energy" for innovation, which he said may have inadvertently helped private label, or store-brand, goods compete.

This was a new position - Schneider had previously brushed off the threat posed to Nestlé by private label competition, saying that while the company had seen "limited" signs of that, it was likely to be temporary. "I'm not concerned," he said at the time.

Market Share Declines

But in the year to mid-June, according to Nielsen data analysed by Barclays, Nestlé's grocery store market share had fallen dramatically in Europe from the year before and been deeply hurt in the U.S.

Other companies like PepsiCo and Unilever also lost market share and sales volumes due to higher prices. However, these other major players have in recent quarters managed to boost volumes again, garnering praise from analysts for supporting their comebacks with innovation and strong advertising.

Nestlé was initially less able to slow its price hikes and even when it did last year, volumes - or 'real internal growth'- stayed weak.

Marketing Rollback

Schneider's step back on marketing in 2022 has also been criticised repeatedly by investors and analysts, despite his renewed push for advertising since.

He has said himself that marketing was "quite muted" in 2022 due to supply chain and capacity constraints.

His replacement, Laurent Freixe, a 62-year-old Frenchman, started working for Nestlé 40 years ago in marketing roles before moving up the ranks to executive positions.

He is seen as a food industry insider, with a broad network of executives and experts from within and outside the Swiss group. He has immediately pledged to focus Nestlé on organic growth rather than acquisitions.

Canada's LNG Energy Group Creates Oilfield Services Division in Colombia

by Rocky Teodoro
|Rigzone Staff
| Monday, August 26, 2024 

|
'LEC is a one-of-a-kind operator with the equipment, personnel and expertise to offer turnkey drilling and workover solutions'.
Image by Igor Borisenko via iStock

LNG Energy Group Corp. has created a new oilfield services division at its wholly owned subsidiary in Colombia, Lewis Energy Colombia Inc. (LEC).

LEC owns and operates two drilling rigs and one workover rig that are capable of executing a wide range of well services, including new exploration and development wells, LNG Energy Group said in a news release.

“LEC is a one-of-a-kind operator with the equipment, personnel and expertise to offer turnkey drilling and workover solutions,” LNG Energy Group Chairman and CEO Pablo Navarro said. “Through the creation and deployment of the Oilfield Services Division, LEC will not only generate another revenue stream, but further strengthen its position as an integral part of the energy landscape in Colombia”.

The oilfield services division will be led by Matthew O’Neill, head of LEC’s Completion and Well Intervention Services. O’Neill has worked in the oil and gas industry for 27 years and has been with the company since 2015. He has held various roles in the industry, from a wireline field engineer up to senior management, and has worked across Europe, the Middle East, West Africa, North America and Latin America. Prior to LEC, O’Neill worked for the global oilfield services company Schlumberger, according to the release.

LNG Energy Group said it looks to mobilize its equipment and personnel in the fourth quarter.

LEC has three rigs on the ground in its Sinú-San Jacinto Norte-1 Block near Barranquilla, Colombia. They include one 1,600-HP top-drive drilling rig, one 1,000-HP top-drive drilling rig and one 550-HP workover rig. These rigs come complete with generators, pumps, blowout preventers (BOPs), mud systems, tanks and other equipment needed to fully execute drilling and workover operations, LNG Energy Group said. Together, the rigs and associated equipment have an estimated value of approximately $10 million.

According to LNG Energy Group, the Colombian natural gas market is facing a supply-demand imbalance, which was further exacerbated in 2024 by the El Niño phenomenon leading to lower rainfall, subsequent reduced hydroelectric power generation, and further reliance on natural gas fired power plants. The country can meet its growing domestic natural gas demand through additional exploration and development of natural gas fields, which should “translate into an increase in demand for efficient and effective drilling services along with experienced service providers,” the company noted.

Since LEC’s entry into Colombia in 2008, it has drilled 70 exploration and production wells and completed numerous workovers using internal equipment. The company has had a wildcat success rate nearly double the industry average, according to the release. The efforts have been led by an expert in-house team that collectively has drilled more than 3,000 wells between the Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk Shales in south Texas and in Latin America.

Toronto, Ontario-based LNG Energy Group describes itself as focused on the acquisition and development of oil and gas exploration and production assets in Latin America.

Uber fined in Netherlands for sending drivers' data to the US

Reuters
Updated Mon, 26 Aug 2024

Ride-hailing platform Uber (UBER) has been fined 290 million euros ($324 million) in the Netherlands for sending the personal data of European taxi drivers to the United States in violation of EU rules, Dutch data protection watchdog DPA said on Monday.
Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER)

Uber has stopped the practice, the DPA added.

"This flawed decision and extraordinary fine are completely unjustified," Uber spokesperson Caspar Nixon told Reuters in an email.

"Uber’s cross-border data transfer process was compliant with GDPR during a 3-year period of immense uncertainty between the EU and US," he added, saying the company would appeal and was confident that "common sense will prevail".

The DPA said Uber transferred personal data to the United States and failed to appropriately safeguard the data.

"This constitutes a serious violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)," it said.

Uber can appeal the decision with the DPA and if unsuccessful can then file a case with the Dutch courts. The appeals process is expected to take some four years and any fines are suspended until all legal recourses have been exhausted, according to the DPA.

The investigation was triggered after a French human rights organisation lodged a complaint on behalf of more than 170 taxi drivers in France with the country's data protection authority. However, as Uber has its European headquarters in the Netherlands, it was forwarded to the DPA.

French national data protection regulator CNIL said in a separate statement that it had cooperated with the DPA.

In a related case, the DPA fined Uber 10 million euros ($11 million) in January for infringement of privacy regulations regarding its drivers' personal data.

($1 = 0.8942 euros)

(Reporting by Stephanie Van Den Berg, Tassilo Hummel; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan)

Red Lobster taps former P.F. Chang's head as CEO in bankruptcy exit plan


Red Lobster restaurant in Virginia·

Mon, 26 Aug 2024

(Reuters) - Damola Adamolekun, former CEO of P.F. Chang's, will take the helm at Red Lobster after a court approval of the restaurant chain's bankruptcy plan, investment management firm Fortress said on Monday.

Lenders, including Fortress Investment Group, are seeking approval for RL Investor Holdings, a newly formed entity, to acquire Red Lobster out of bankruptcy.

Adamolekun, who stepped down from his role as the boss of restaurant chain P.F. Chang's in 2023, will become the CEO of RL Investor, Fortress said.

Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in Florida in May with about $300 million in debt and a plan to close some restaurants and sell itself to its lenders or a higher bidder.

Red Lobster would continue to operate as an independent company, with 544 locations across 44 states in the U.S. and four Canadian provinces, Fortress said.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Poison Pen: Elliott Sends Open Letter To Southwest Investors Attacking Airline Leadership

By Rytis Beresnevičius

Summary

Elliott Investment Management, which has amassed an 11% shareholding in Southwest Airlines, has continued to push a leadership change at the airline.

While Southwest Airlines has attempted to make changes, the investment firm brushed them off, continuing to call for the resignation or removal of the carrier's top executives.

The proxy battle has been brewing since early June, when Elliott announced its Stronger Southwest plan, which outlined the needed changes at the airline, including the removal of its chairman of the board and CEO.


Elliott Investment Management (Elliott) has continued criticizing Southwest Airlines' current and former chief executives, with the investment firm addressing the carrier’s shareholders and reiterating its plans to change the leadership at Southwest Airlines.
Continuous criticism

Continuing to publish letters on the Stronger Southwest platform, Elliott has once again critiqued Bob Jordan, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Southwest Airlines, and Gary Kelly, the current chairman of the board and former CEO of the airline.

Photo: Southwest Airlines

Blaming the two executives for years’ long mismanagement, the investment firm outlined that over the course of three years before it announced its 11% position in Southwest Airlines in June, the airline’s share price has fallen by more than 30%.

“Shareholders are demanding better, and as one of the Company’s largest investors, we are leading an effort to arrest Southwest’s decline and return it to its rightful place as an industry leader.”

Elliott stated that after it had announced its intentions to initiate a leadership change at the airline, Jordan indicated his desire to fight Elliot’s efforts, which has included a poison pill that was armed in July.

Furthermore, the investment firm pointed out that the airline has falsely claimed that the two warring sides have not met, adding that in addition to a meeting in June, Elliott intended to meet with Southwest Airlines’ representatives on September 9.

Elliott Strategy Is Wrong For Southwest: Former United Airlines CEO Explains Why

The former United CEO advises Southwest to stick with its new course.

No leadership changes

Elliott pointed out that Kelly has led a process to add new directors to the airline’s board. At the same time, the investment firm was adamant that this was an effort to “entrench its current leadership.”

“We have no doubt that Southwest will attempt to portray our decision not to participate in this sham process absent a comprehensive solution as further evidence of our unwillingness to engage.”

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

However, Elliott pointed out that Southwest Airlines’ executives were willing to talk openly only if “the most critical question,” namely the change of the carrier’s leadership, was taken off the table.

The company added that while it was willing to engage with the carrier’s board, it would only do so if it agreed to remove both Kelly and Jordan.

Otherwise, it preferred that shareholders, including itself, had a direct say in Southwest Airlines' future leadership.

Elliott Investment To Push For 10 New Boardroom Directors At Southwest Airlines

The firm wants big changes at the airline


Meeting with proposed directors

After Elliott announced ten independent directors to the airline’s board in early August, Southwest Airlines’ representatives have attempted to meet with the proposed executives.


“Neither Elliott nor its independent director candidates see the benefit to Southwest or to us of participating in this Company-controlled process.”

When Southwest Airlines has underperformed so much, no process conducted by its current leadership could be considered credible, Elliott noted.

Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock



The investment firm reiterated that another firm, Artisan Partners, has joined in its efforts to change the leadership at the airline, with several other unidentified shareholders expressing the same desire.
Related

SWAPA President Backs Call For Change As Elliot Responds To 'Poison Pill'

Southwest Airlines' pilots reiterated that whatever will happen in the next few months, changes will be coming to the airline and its business model.
2



Embracing the company’s culture

At the same time, while reiterating that leadership had to go, Eliott stated that it believed Southwest Airlines' current culture was vital to its success and had no intention of changing it.


“But the underlying message of Mr. Jordan’s recent rhetoric is that the culture of Southwest, which has powered its success for half a century, now seems to solely depend on the continued employment of its two top executives… who happen to be Mr. Kelly and Mr. Jordan.”

The recently announced changes to the boarding process and additional revenue initiatives were also criticized, with the investment firm saying that rapid and ad-hoc decisions could impede the long-term stability of Southwest Airlines.




“We have seen this movie before, and it rarely ends well, because there is no one more short-term-oriented at the expense of future value than a beleaguered CEO trying to preserve his or her job.”

Elliott concluded its letter by saying that it has continued to assume it would meet with the airline on September 9.

Photo: F Armstrong Photography | Shutterstock

At the same time, Southwest Airlines will attempt to distract shareholders by using various measures to avoid engaging with them.

The investment firm has hoped that some members of the board will look past the personal interests of Jordan and Kelly and do what was in favor of Southwest Airlines and its stakeholders.

China’s Budget Spending Drops as Land Sales See Record Fall


Bloomberg News
Mon, 26 Aug 2024, 

(Bloomberg) -- China’s broad budget expenditure contracted and income from land sales for local governments fell at a record pace, a sign of fiscal weakness that may further increase calls on Beijing to add stimulus to support the $17 trillion economy.

The combined spending in the general public budget and the government fund account was about 19.7 trillion yuan ($2.8 trillion) in the first seven months of the year, down 2% from the same point in 2023, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data released by the Ministry of Finance on Monday.

Behind the decline was a 8.9% decrease in land-related expenditure that includes payments for primary land development and compensation for existing rural infrastructure in preparation for a potential sale. Local governments have been cutting spending as their budgets come under strain from a severe housing downturn that’s made developers reluctant to purchase land.

The property fallout on public finances is becoming increasingly evident on the balance sheets of indebted local governments. Their revenue from land sales in July shrank just over 40% on year to 250 billion yuan, according to Bloomberg calculations, the sharpest fall since comparative data became available in 2016.

Total revenue under the two budgets came in at 15.9 trillion yuan in the first seven months, down 5.3% on year. That translated into an augmented deficit — a broad measure of the fiscal gap — of 3.8 trillion yuan.

“We see significant downward pressure for fiscal funding this year from falling tax and land sales revenue, besides the multi-year” deleveraging by state-owned companies known as local government financing vehicles, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists including Lisheng Wang wrote in a note after the data release. It’s a reference to Beijing’s campaign to curb local governments’ exposure to off-balance-sheet debt risks.


On Monday, six government departments including the Ministry of Finance issued measures to strengthen oversight of municipal infrastructure projects to prevent hidden debt. The actions bar local governments from selling bonds to fund projects with zero or little returns.

Policy at Crossroads

The spending contraction came during a month when China’s ruling Communist Party convened for its most important economic policy meetings for the second half of the year. The country’s top leadership pledged to make boosting consumer spending a greater focus but fell short of outlining decisive new measures.

At a regular meeting on July 31, China’s cabinet vowed to study additional steps that would be strong enough to reach companies and households.

The Goldman economists estimate fiscal expenditure growth rebounded in July, citing a broad deficit metric of their own that combines major on- and off-budget channels. They also expect government bond net issuance to increase “notably” in coming months to support fiscal spending and government-led investment.

Calls are meanwhile intensifying for the Chinese authorities to ramp up fiscal stimulus. Domestic demand has struggled to pick up as the persistent real estate crisis, price competition between companies and a gloomy job market weigh on business and consumer confidence.

A growing chorus of state-linked economists has urged Beijing to raise this year’s official deficit ceiling to allow more central government borrowing. Late last year, China lifted the ratio to 3.8% of gross domestic product from the original 3% with the sales of an additional 1 trillion yuan of sovereign bonds.

Among the challenges facing local governments is finding quality infrastructure projects to invest their special bond funds. In response, the economists have proposed using part of the money raised from any additional government borrowing this year to pay for subsidies for less well-off households as well as address the local debt risks and help rescue the property market.

A shift in the use of government bonds has already started. China is tapping some of the 1 trillion yuan of ultra-long special sovereign bonds it’s selling this year to subsidize purchases of new equipment by companies and consumers — Beijing’s key initiative aimed at boosting consumption.

Policymakers are also considering a proposal to let local authorities use these bonds to fund their purchases of unsold homes as part of efforts to prop up the housing market, Bloomberg reported last week.

The issuance of local special bonds — mostly meant for infrastructure investment — accelerated in August after staying slow earlier this year, partly as large amounts of sovereign debt hit the market. Sales of new local special notes have reached 632.7 billion yuan so far this month, already the largest volume since June 2022.

--With assistance from Ailing Tan, Jing Zhao and Lucille Liu.

UK 

Plumbers, fitters and welders to strike next month

Updated / Monday, 26 Aug 2024 

Unite said that talks with the MEBSCA aimed at averting 

industrial action broke down this morning

By Brian O'Donovan
Work & Technology Correspondent


Plumbers, fitters, welders and apprentices on construction projects, who are members of the Unite trade union, are to take strike action next month in a dispute over travel allowances.

The union said action will begin with a full day of work stoppages on Friday 6 September, with pickets placed at sites around the country.

Unite said that talks with the Mechanical Engineering and Building Services Contractors' Association (MEBSCA) aimed at averting industrial action broke down this morning.

Earlier this month, Unite members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action in pursuit of restoration of the first hour of 'travel time'.

The decision to ballot for industrial action came after initial talks with MEBSCA broke down at the beginning of July.

Unite said that the payment of the first hour of ‘travel time’ was originally cut as a ‘temporary measure’ following the 2008 financial crash and that it was meant to be reviewed after a year.

"If MEBSCA wants to avoid significant disruption to construction sites around Ireland, they must return to the table and engage meaningfully with Unite regarding restoration of the first hour of 'travel time'," said Unite regional officer James McCabe.

"Otherwise, there will be a further escalation in this dispute," Mr McCabe said.

MEBSCA has said that the first hour of 'travel time' has been incorporated into hourly rates since 2011 as part of an agreement reached with Unite.

"An agreement was entered into with Unite in 2011, which incorporated the first hour of travel into hourly rates," a MEBSCA spokesperson said.

"This agreement had the effect of increasing the hourly rate which also resulted in a higher rate being paid for overtime and holidays."

"Unite is now seeking to maintain the higher rate of pay while also seeking to reverse the agreement that was freely entered into by Unite at that time," MEBSCA said.

Scotland and Wales have promised Free School Meals to all primary school children, why can’t England, campaigners ask?

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead 

Yesterday

LEFT FOOT FORWARD


As calls grow for the government to implement the policy nationwide to help lift children out of poverty, Labour continues to face criticism for its controversial decision to maintain the two-child benefit cap.



As the new school year approaches, calls for free school meals for all primary school children in England are mounting. Thousands have signed a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, entitled “Free School Meals for All.”

The letter, initiated by No Child Left Behind – a campaign focused on breaking down the barriers that poverty creates around equal access to education – and the National Education Union (NEU), highlights the severity of the situation, how, in 2023, four million children in the UK lived in households where food was scarce. It describes child hunger in schools as an “epidemic.”

The authors argue that providing free school meals for every child would relieve financial pressure on parents, allowing them to afford other essentials for their children, such as heating, food at home, hobbies, and after-school activities. The letter goes on to explain how teachers and support staff witness firsthand the positive impact of a healthy school lunch. “When children are hungry, they can’t learn. It’s hard for them to concentrate and harder for them to reach their potential. Free School Meals for all would mean every child can learn and succeed,” the letter states.

The campaign also points out that while Wales and Scotland have already committed to providing free school meals for all primary school children, England is lagging behind. In 2020, Scotland pledged to extend free school meals to all primary school children, and Wales followed suit in 2021. “It is time for England to catch up,” it states.

The campaign has gained support from numerous celebrities, including Olivia Colman, Brian Cox, and Ed Sheeran, as well as hundreds of civil society leaders such as Michael McGregor, CEO of 38 Degrees, and Cathy Evans, CEO of Children England. Additionally, over 40 different faith communities, numerous councillors and mayors, more than 40 MPs and Lords, various sports bodies, and public health organisations have backed the initiative.

Keir Starmer is facing increasing pressure to adopt the free meals policy nationwide, especially since London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that all primary pupils in the capital will receive free school meals for a year starting in September. But Starmer has so far refused to commit to supporting free school meals for all primary school children.

As calls grow for the government to implement the policy nationwide to help lift children out of poverty, Labour continues to face criticism for its controversial decision to maintain the two-child benefit cap. This policy, originally introduced by David Cameron’s Conservative government, was intended to discourage families on benefits from having more children than they could financially support, based on the idea that “hard-working families” often struggle to afford larger families. Many see Labour’s decision to uphold the cap as a betrayal of traditional Labour values and human rights principles.

In a strong critique of the government’s continuation of the policy, Dr. Emily Ball, a lecturer in Social Policy and Social Research Methods at the University of Birmingham, argues that the cap is just one of “many strands of welfare reform that are sold to the public as fair, when in reality they do little more than sit pretty on an ideologically conservative soapbox.” Dr Ball writes: “The continued shedding of Labour’s image as the ‘spending party’ should not take precedence over the cruelty of the two-child cap and the responsibility for helping a generation of children who will grow up with their needs not being met.”

South London cleaners strike against elite school bosses

James Allen’s Girls’ School in Dulwich charges £24,000 a year per student

Night cleaners at Harrods won, and so can Dulwich school strikers (Picture: UVW)

By Charlie Kimber
Friday 23 August 2024

SOCIALIST WORKER Issue

Class struggle is alive and well in south London. Workers who clean the private James Allen’s Girls’ School in Dulwich, south London, are set for a three-day strike.

It was the Times newspaper’s Independent Secondary School of the Year 2024—and charges £24,000 a year per student.

The UVW union members plan to be out on 2, 3 and 5 September. It will see migrant workers take on an elite school’s bosses.

The union says, “Outsourced migrant cleaners have had their hours cut and pay unlawfully slashed by 12 percent.”

The cleaners were told to accept a cut in five weeks of work and pay per year in order to be granted the London Living Wage of £13.15 per hour. These changes left them worse off because they were employed for fewer hours.

When the cleaners refused—and voted unanimously to strike—their pay was returned to the lower rate of £11.55 per hour. The cleaners are employed directly by contractor DB Services.

Cleaner Gloria Chalaco said, “They didn’t consult us at all—they just started implementing cuts and changes, ignoring our voices.

“We can’t just find another job to make up for such a significant income loss, especially with scattered weeks off throughout the year. Our bills and rent don’t stop. On top of that, we don’t have sick pay.

“When we get sick, we either work while ill or lose our pay. They don’t respect us, the cleaners, as people with the same needs and rights as everyone else, yet we ensure the environment is healthy and safe for the pupils.”

The head of the school earns over £200,000 a year. There are also 38 other employees of the school with salaries between £60,000 and £90,000 and several others who earn over £100,000.

Striker Nelsa Jimenez said, “I can’t believe they have cut our pay. It is blackmail what they’re doing—forcing us to agree to a cut in hours or a cut in pay.

“I don’t feel valued. I feel outraged. We will fight back with everything, for our rights and the rights of anyone else who ever works in this company.”

Workers are demanding a yearly pay rise in line with the London Living Wage, no cuts to pay or hours, the same sick pay scheme as teachers and no contract changes.

The school boasts income of £25 million a year. Yet the five-week cut in hours management requested will save just £20,000 a year on the backs of the lowest-paid workers there. The school claims to profess values of inclusion, diversity, and equity.

The school strike comes as night cleaners at posh store Harrods in the UVW voted to strike and forced bosses to scrap restrictive new annual leave policy. It would have severely restricted workers’ ability to take time off to visit families abroad.

The union said it was a “racially discriminatory” holiday policy that particularly hit black and Asian workers. These inspiring struggles deserve full support.Picket at 144 East Dulwich Grove, London SE22 8TE from 7.30-8:30am, Monday 2, Tuesday 3 and Thursday 5 Sept
To donate to the strike fund and to write to the head go to tinyurl.com/Jags0824