SOAS cleaner faces dismissal

Kat Lay, London Student, Monday, 2nd March 2009.

A SOAS trade union activist was waiting to hear the outcome of a disciplinary hearing as London Student went to press.

Supporters say Jose Stalin Bermudez could face losing his job after he took part in the campaign for a living wage for cleaners at the School. SOAS management have angrily refuted the claim.

Students and staff stood outside SOAS last Tuesday February 24th in a show of solidarity, as Joseph Stalin Bermudez went in to the hearing.

In a statement they said: “Stalin, an Ecuadorian immigrant and himself a former cleaner, helped launch a campaign for the London Living Wage after Latin American SOAS cleaners approached him for support, as some of them had not been paid for 3 months by SOAS’s cleaning contractor.

“Stalin, along with other staff and students, organised a series of protests which would see cleaners raise their wages from £5.52 to £7.45 per hour and gain trade-union recognition! This important victory has encouraged similar campaigns to be set up in other London colleges.

“We believe that his suspension is groundless.”

A SOAS spokesperson said: “We regret that the School’s unions have chosen to breach confidentiality by airing this issue in public in a biased and inflammatory way, which can only be intended to intimidate the other member of staff involved in the case and the School managers charged with taking this matter forward.

“This is a confidential staff matter and it would be wholly inappropriate to discuss it whilst the School’s formal processes continue. UNISON HQ staff have been fully involved in this process and have formally disassociated themselves with the SOAS branch campaign.

The disciplinary concerns a complaint made against Stalin by a colleague. SOAS UNISON says that despite previous problems between the pair, management failed “to either reconcile the two employees or separate them in their duties.”

They further question the handling of the complaints, saying that a cleaner who witnessed events was questioned in front of his cleaning firm’s supervisor and, despite his imperfect English, was read a long quote allegedly made by Stalin and asked to agree to it. Although he initially agreed, when he was able to read the words himself he withdrew his comments.

The SOAS spokesperson added: “Suggestions that the School is victimising the member of staff in question because he is a UNISON member and because he was involved in the Justice for Cleaners Campaign are preposterous.

"The School was fully supportive of the Justice for Cleaners Campaign and School management worked with UCU, UNISON and the Students’ Union to secure a new cleaning contract which sees SOAS as one of the few HEIs in London which pays all its cleaning staff the GLA London Living Wage. This has resulted in significant improvements to cleaning staff morale.”

As of 3rd March, Stalin has been sacked from his job. There will be a protest on the steps of SOAS on 4th March 2009 at 9.30am.