If you are a self employed cleaner then you may be working as a contractor, freelancer, or gig worker. Low pay is common.
Especially in London, where many self employed cleaners work long hours, in difficult conditions, and with no job security. They are self employed after all, although most of them work for one employer, almost exclusively.
Which brings us on to the common debate of – self employed VS employed, which one are you really?
Here at Umbrella Companies we have talked about this subject before, so we won’t throw our opinion into the ring, yet again. The only thing we will say is…it is a complicated subject and not always clear cut.
Anyway back to the story and many self employed cleaners in London are fed up, which has led some of them to put down their mops and flannels and walk out the building.
Where to? They walked directly to the street outside the building, where they made signs, and they marched and shouted, and picketed, and made “people power” the motto of the day.
That day has now turned to a week, and many of the self employed cleaners on strike say they won’t go back until conditions are improved and they get what they want.
“We are not backing down,” said one cleaner who was standing on their soap box at a rally last week.
Do you know what? It wouldn’t surprise me if CIF (Creative Industries Federation) get involved with this one at some point.
Okay…cleaning isn’t strictly a creative art, but CIF do have experience with workers on strike and negotiating with the bosses. I’m sure they could help to wipe the slate clean and get everybody back to work.
Right now though it is the PCS Union who are working together with the self employed cleaners, shoulder to shoulder and side by side.
The two firms in question are ISS and Aramark, who some claim are paying self employed cleaners only £9 an hour which is less than the London Living Wage of £10.55. Who knows for sure what is going on.
In our opinion £9 an hour in London must be a real drag. Doesn’t it cost £6 an hour to park your car? This is certainly a situation that needs looking at and sorting out quickly.
I’m sure the PCS and maybe even CIF can do something about it, and in no time at all the self employed cleaners of London can go back to work and pick up those mops and flannels once again and clean up the city once and for all.
