Security guards at St George’s University of London (SGUL) have secured three weeks of full sick pay, following an agreement with facilities contractor Bidvest Noonan, who directly recruit the security guards.
This follows several months of disputes, including 15 days of strike action in May 2020. The employees were contesting the organisation’s decision to only pay them the legal requirement for statutory sick pay (SSP) of £19.17 per day, as well as the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Additionally, the security guards’ representative, United Voices of the World (UVW) and Bidvest Noonan reached an agreement for full pay if employees have to self-isolate due to contracting the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) virus, as well as offering security guards a one hour paid lunch break during their shift.
Petros Elia, an organiser at UVW, said: “The offer of full pay sick pay is welcome but it isn’t enough. It’s only for three weeks and well below what university staff get. St. George’s has treated these workers like second class people and we’ll continue to fight through strike action and legal action.”
Bidvest Noonan was unavailable to comment at the time of publication.