SOLIDARITY WITH SOAS CLEANERS
Subject: Please Join This Group - Stop the Deportation of SOAS University Cleaners!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=89511288639
This group has been set up in Solidarity with the 9 members of the cleaning staff at SOAS who, following a morning raid by border police, have been detained and threatened with immediate deportation from the U.K. We demand an immediate end to these deportations.
Below is a summary of the events. Please sign up and show your support!
Summary of the Border Agency raid at SOAS campus on 12/06/2009
• All SOAS cleaning staff were called into a meeting by ISS (the company who contracts SOAS’ cleaning staff) at 7am, in a ground floor room and were given no warning about the raid.
• 45-50 Immigration police entered through the fire doors and the main entrance to the room and surrounded the cleaning staff; the police officers were in riot gear.
• They cleaners were locked in the room and then led one by one into another room, where their immigration status was checked during which they had no representation or even a translator (many staff are native Spanish speakers). A lot of the cleaners were in emotional distress. A trade union representative was refused access to the staff.
• The raid was instigated by the cleaning contractor ISS who requested the police action. Two members of SOAS Management were present during the raid liasing with the police, suggesting that they had prior knowledge of the raid.
• 9 Cleaners, five of whom are UNISON members were taken into detention. One detained cleaner was six months pregnent, she is thought to have collapsed during the events.
• Legal representation is being sought through UNISON and other parties, the authorities have not yet revealed where they have been taken, and the detained have no way to contact us.
• ISS have informed UNISON that some cleaners detained may be fast-tracked out of the country, thus they may be deported within 72 hours.
• Those detained have been working at SOAS for many years; they have settled in London and have families here. Deportation will be devastating not only for the individuals involved but also the families, who could be split up. They are also our friends and fellow colleagues.
• The heavy-handed treatment which the cleaners received was grossly over the top and ISS/SOAS are complicit in this.
• ISS knew that there was documentation problems with their employees yet have not acted to resolve this beforehand. It’s not a coincidence that the cleaners in question were among the first to fight for Union representation and a decent wage.
• The actions today send a clear message to other agency workers in London not to fight for union representation, such levels of intimidation cannot be tolerated.
• Boris Johnson has recently called for an amnesty for illegal workers in London, because he recognizes the vital work they do.
• The raid is proof once again that SOAS cleaning staff need to be brought in-house and that companies like ISS which exploit and intimidate workers have no place at SOAS.
• We are demanding an immediate end to the deportations!
• We are demanding that cleaners be brought in-house where they will not be exposed to this level of harassment.
This is absolutely disgusting. Not only is deportation and the threat of deportation barbaric- splitting up families, making people live in fear, contravening basic human rights sihc as freedom of movement, leading to very real fears for the safety of people- it is being used here as a weapon to attack the ability of workers to organise in a trade union.
This case should become a cause celebre of protest and anger across the whole trade union movement. When employers and the state can target and terrorise a certain section of the workforce- in this case migrant workers- then is it is used to fragment, weaken and batter us all. All trade unionists who can should attend the demonstration and others should send messages of support from union branches, workplace groups and individuals. We should demand that unions across London take up the demands of the London wage, support the rights of all workers to be employed on contracts at trade union rates of pay and conditions against attempts to casualise work. The petition should be circulated across union branches, student union groups, antiracist campaigns and community organisations. All workers affected should have legal representation organised and paid for by the union.
Finally if staff and students at SOAS and other campuses decide to walkout of classes, occupy the buildings and control the campuses in support of the SOAS workers we should lend them every support.
Additionally, this will be a bit of a test for the London left who are issuing calls to unite- will the SP, SWP, CPGB, AWL all of whom have either issued calls to unite or welcomed them be uniting in this? Let’s hope so.
Comment by Jason — 14 June, 2009 @ 8:15 am
Cleaners fighting for better wages raided on Friday and facing deportation.
Protest to defend the ‘SOAS 9′ THIS Monday, 8.30am, steps of SOAS.
PASS THIS MESSAGE ON!
Comment by Futurecast — 14 June, 2009 @ 2:40 pm
Petition here
http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/28557.html
Demo info below:
Stop the Deportation of SOAS University Cleaners!
Solidarity Demonstration 08:30 Monday 15th June 2009
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London
WC1H 0XG
On Friday 12th, SOAS University was raided by immigration officers & police, who rounded up several cleaners employed by ISS contractors amidst threats of immediate deportation. 9 persons (that we know of) were arrested under immigration powers and detained and subsequently served removal directions for Monday 15th June 2009.
SOAS staff and students have condemned the raids.
Please bring banners and other visual, audio aids.
Phone: 079 5803 4181
Email: freesoascleaners@gmail.com
Below is a summary of the events. Please sign up and show your support.
This group has been set up in solidarity with the 9 members of the cleaning staff at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) who have been detained and who face immediate deportation, following a morning raid on SOAS campus on the 12th June by the Immigration and Border police.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=89511288639
At 6.30am on Friday the 12th June, ISS (the company who contracts the SOAS cleaning staff) called a meeting for all cleaners.
Within minutes the meeting was raided by approximately 45-50 Immigration and Border police, who entered through the fire doors and the main entrance to the room and detained all the cleaning staff; the officers were in riot gear.
Following the raid the cleaners were locked in the room. One by one the workers were led into another SOAS classroom, where their immigration status was checked. During this process the staff were allowed no representation and provided with no translator (many staff are native Spanish speakers). A trade union representative at the scene was refused access to the staff members.
Nine cleaners, including five UNISON members, were taken into detention. One detained individual was six months pregnant, she is thought to have collapsed during the events.
It is known that the contractor ISS had requested the police action. Two members of SOAS management were present during the raid, liaising with the police. This suggests that the school had prior knowledge of the raid.
ISS have informed UNISON that those cleaners detained may be fast-tracked out of the country, thus they may be deported within 72 hours.
Those detained have been working at SOAS for many years; they have settled in London. Deportation will be devastating not only for the individuals involved but also the families. They are also our friends and fellow colleagues in the SOAS community.
It is not a coincidence that SOAS cleaners were one of the first university cleaners to fight for Union representation and a decent wage. The events on Friday appear to be aimed at sending a clear message to other agency workers in London not to fight for union representation, such levels of intimidation cannot be tolerated.
We believe the heavy-handed treatment which the cleaners received was grossly over the top and ISS/SOAS are complicit in this.
We believe that these appalling events are proof once again that SOAS cleaning staff need to be brought in-house and that companies like ISS which exploit and intimidate workers have no place at SOAS.
Comment by Jason — 14 June, 2009 @ 7:53 pm
From http://www.solomonsmindfield.net/2009/06/tony-benn-jeremy-corbyn-others-letter.html
Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn & others letter to Independent, Observer & Sunday Times
(we submitted this letter yesterday but it was not included for submission as far as i can see on the online versions of these three papers)
Stop Racist Deportations at SOAS
We are appalled at the actions of the immigration services, who with the aid of facilities contractors ISS conducted an early morning raid of SOAS recently. Nine cleaners were accused of working without valid documentation and are now being held pending their likely deportation from the UK.
Neither the contractors nor the university authorities had any problem with employing migrant labour with or without valid work permits so long as lecture theatres were cleaned at low rates and ISS were making sufficient profits.
The crime these mainly Latin American workers seem to have committed is to have campaigned for, and won, the London Living Wage and their union rights. In fact ISS had signed a union recognition agreement with Unison last week.
Unison members struck solidly last month in protest at the sacking of cleaner and union activist Jose Stalin Bermudez.
Evidence suggests that SOAS Management colluded with ISS and the immigration services to allow this shameful episode to happen and we believe that the raid took place to send a message to other groups of workers who may have been encouraged by the success of the Living Wage campaigns.
We demand an amnesty for all migrant workers in Britain.
Signed by (incl):
Tony Benn
Jeremy Corbyn MP
John McDonnell MP
Sandy Nicholl SOAS UNISON
Graham Dyer SOAS UNISON
Marya Ahmed SOAS Co-President
Elly James SOAS Women’s Officer
Clare Solomon Former SOAS Co-President
James Haywood NUS NEC
Phemie Matheson NUS NEC
Pat Carmody CWU P&B Section Secretary
Comment by Jason — 14 June, 2009 @ 8:50 pm
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=18168
Comment by Solidarity — 15 June, 2009 @ 2:12 pm
Solidarity, there is a post advertising the SOAS occupation.
Comment by Louise — 15 June, 2009 @ 2:14 pm