A group of the council’s cleaners said they have been told their hours could be getting cut, leaving many feeling ‘depressed’ and underappreciated.
The cleaners, who work hard to ensure the people of Southwark can enjoy clean community spaces, are contracted to OCS.
Since October 2022 OCS has been contracted by Southwark Council to provide this daily service.
John S* has been cleaning council buildings daily for the last four years.
A typical day for him begins at Peckham Library, then the registry office and ends in Camberwell at the adult social care centre, Castlemead.
He also cleans various other buildings in Dulwich at the weekend.
Recently, John and some of his colleagues were invited to a meeting with OCS to discuss a reduction in hours. They are currently attending individual consultations before the official process is set to begin.
OCS has not responded to our requests for comment – however, IWGB, the union representing workers claimed they were told 50 per cent of hours were being cut in most buildings. It is currently unclear how many redundancies this equates to.
When we briefly caught up with him whilst on shift, John explained the news was almost too much for him to bear.
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“It’s causing me depression,” he told News. “How could they do this to me and my colleagues?”
To fight against the proposed cuts, on Thursday 26 September, twenty people braved the rain to join the protest outside the council offices on Tooley Street.
“I just don’t feel secure in my job at all,” John added.
When we asked Southwark Council for their stance on the cuts, they said they ‘valued’ the cleaners and asserted the number of hours OCS is contracted to provide has not changed. However, they failed to comment on the ongoing consultation.
A Southwark Council spokesperson said: “We hugely value the work done by hard-working cleaners across Southwark’s parks, libraries and buildings.
“We expect all our contractors to work very closely with staff and unions on all issues related to employment. We are closely monitoring this situation and are in regular conversation with OCS.”
Henry Chango Lopez, IWGB General Secretary, said: “After many years of working hard so the people of Southwark can enjoy clean community spaces, these workers are suddenly seeing their livelihoods wiped away like it’s nothing.
On behalf of the workers, IWGB claimed they had not been given any reasons for the proposed cuts. They are working with their members to encourage the council to ‘cut out the middle man’ and bring the cleaners in-house, to ensure more job security.
“Southwark Council must stop closing its eyes to the appalling exploitation taking place in its name. It’s time to cut ties with outsourcing companies like OCS and instead bring these essential workers in-house.
“Until that happens, the council continues to preside over a two-tier workforce, in which its mostly black and brown cleaning team are denied the rights and conditions the rest of its staff enjoy. Today, Southwark cleaners showed that they stand united, and ready to fight together for the rights and respect they deserve.”
*name changed
