Birkbeck University has given into campaigners and adopted a London Living Wage for its cleaning and catering staff.

An email by Unison:

Dear Living Wage campaign supporters,

I am very pleased to announce that this evening’s meeting, Birkbeck Governors voted unanimously to implement the GLA London Living Wage (£7.45) to cleaning and catering staff, following recommendation from the Master of the College.

We are thrilled at this decision! The Unison branch can feel extremely proud of this victory, alongside UCU, Unite and the Students Union.

We also give credit to College Management for listening and taking seriously the arguments that the campaign presented. We look forward to helping the college implement the full living wage package.

Thank you everyone for all your support and participation in achieving this tremendous victory. The struggle continues to win the same across the other Bloomsbury colleges!

In Solidarity,
Julia Rapkin
International Officer
Birkbeck Unison branch

Naadir Jeewa writes in to add:

The finance committee was proposing only the IPPR rate to the governors meeting. Instead, governors unanimously accepted the counter-proposal from Unison, Birkbeck Students’ Union, UCU and Unite.

I’d add that the key role of the student governors, Tami Peterson and Rob Park goes to show the importance of student representation in college governance, and is a real victory of democracy in the face of student union governance reviews disenfranchising students.

Our next target is the University of London Union, who run the Birkbeck bar, and have so far failed to implement the LLW.

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1. Liberal Conspiracy

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