The UCU congress voted last week to boycott Senate House, the administrative centre of the University of London (UoL), because of its treatment of cleaning, catering and security staff and others not directly employed.
It is hoped the move will pressure the university into bringing the predominantly BAME and female staff in-house into direct employment, strengthening their workplace rights and providing the benefits enjoyed by other employees at the institution, such as equal terms on sick pay.
There have been 17 days of strike action since September 2017, when UoL cleaners and security began a campaign to end outsourcing, with calls for a boycott of Senate House beginning in December 2018. More than 180 Senate House events and 35 seminars were relocated, and more than 400 academics and 23 UCU branches have expressed support for the workers.