UK

Cleaners at the Old Bailey ballot to strike against outsourcing plans

FEBRUARY 11,2025

The Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union (CAIWU) is launching a strike ballot in response to the City of London Corporation’s plans to outsource cleaning staff at the Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court). This decision represents a significant betrayal of public sector workers, undermining the very promises of insourcing made by the Labour government.

CAIWU condemns this move as a direct attack on the rights and livelihoods of some of the most vulnerable workers in society. Outsourcing is widely recognised for driving down wages, increasing workloads, and stripping away essential workplace protections. Instead of fulfilling the government’s pledge to insource public sector roles, this decision reinforces the creation of a two-tier workforce— one in which contracted workers face insecurity, alienation, and a lack of in-work benefits compared to their directly employed counterparts.

“Our members at the Old Bailey have been left in the dark, with no consultation on this drastic change,” said a CAIWU spokesperson. “They now live in fear of what this outsourcing will mean for their jobs, their pay, and their working conditions. It is appalling that, under a government that promised to reverse these exploitative practices, we are still seeing public sector workers cast aside in pursuit of cost-cutting measures.”

CAIWU is calling for the City of London Corporation to halt these plans immediately and uphold fair treatment for all its employees. Ian Thomas CBE, the Town Clerk and Chief Executive of the City of London, has championed principles of equality and inclusion in his tenure. With cleaners representing some of the most diverse members of the workforce as primarily women, people of colour and migrants, now is the time to demonstrate those values in action.

If the Corporation refuses to act, CAIWU members at the Old Bailey will have no choice but to take industrial action to defend their rights.

The timeline of events is as follows:

• 22nd January 2025, Old Bailey Cleaners received a letter from OCS Commercial Cleaning Services informing them of the initiation of a TUPE Transfer to be completed by 1st March 2025.

• Cleaners were not informed or consulted about the transfer beforehand. On 22nd January, CAIWU responded raising concerns about the lack of consultation time built into the process.

• 2nd February 2025, due to lack of adequate response from the City of London Corporation, CAIWU gave notice of a strike ballot, opening on 14th February.

CAIWU was founded in 2016 and is an independent workers union designed to help organise cleaners across the UK. CAIWU is run by and for its members. CAIWU has waged several high-profile campaigns at the Royal Opera House, University of East London, Facebook, Nike Town, the British Medical Association, and the Ministry of Defence, and continues to campaign for improved pay and working conditions across its organised workplaces.