Cleaners at Facebook’s Brock Street offices in Central London have been campaigning since May 2021 about the excessive workloads and pressure placed on them by their employer, Churchill Cleaning. They have also been campaigning about the victimisation and eventual dismissal of their elected Union Rep, Guillermo Camacho. Furthermore, since November 2021 they have been demanding an increase to bring their pay into line with the revised London Living Wage rate of £11.05 per hour.

A number of these issues were finally resolved this week when Churchill agreed, in the face of imminent industrial action by the cleaners, to meet with CAIWU representatives and negotiate a settlement under which:

• Churchill will pay the revised London Living Wage rate of £11.05

• The pay award will be backdated to November 2021

• The cleaners’ individual duties, roles and areas of responsibility have been specified, thereby addressing the ongoing issue of excessive workloads.

The issue of Guillermo Camacho’s victimisation and eventual dismissal remains unresolved and is subject to a forthcoming employment tribunal case.

The victory represents an important success for the cleaners, whose frustration with Churchill’s failure to address their concerns had led directly to them joining forces with the RMT (The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) to campaign against the company’s unacceptable employment practices. Allegations against Churchill include a range of workplace abuses such as bullying, intimidation and bogus dismissals, as well as the imposition of impossible workloads and numerous acts of outright discrimination against trade-union activists and members. And while the main concerns of the Facebook cleaners have been addressed, at least in the short term, the RMT campaign continues with the full support of CAIWU and its members.