Outsourced strikers speak live from the picket line

PCS members working for ISS, G4S and OCS are on strike this week and for the G4S and OCS members this will continue throughout December and into January. The members, who work on outsourced contracts in government departments, are involved in a long-running dispute over pay, terms and conditions.

Our first “picket line live” event was hosted by PCS national president Martin Cavanagh and heard from senior national officer Laura Bee who talked about the dispute and why the members are on strike. 

The first striker to appear on our livestream, Declan, is on strike with his fellow OCS and G4S members at the FCDO site in East Kilbride. He told viewers that the solidarity members have received is “keeping them going”.

“The mood on the ground this morning at Abercrombie House is a mix of determination and frustration,” Declan told PCS national president Martin Cavanagh. “Members on the picket line are standing firm in their resolve to achieve fair treatment and better working conditions.”

These members in East Kilbride had a clear message for OCS and G4S: they are, Declan explained, “not just a number on the balance sheets”; they “deserve fair treatment, respect and proper recognition for the crucial work they do.”

Another striker said that, even though she has been on strike for thirteen weeks and it is “hard going”, members will achieve the results they need “so long as we stick together”.

In London, speaking from Whitehall, G4S member Anil explained how he and his fellow workers do not receive company sick pay and work unreasonably long shifts: “We just want G4S to come forward and negotiate.”

From the same picket line Deborah said “It’s really expensive to live in London and yet we are not getting liveable pay. So we are here fighting for our rights, fighting for better conditions and fighting to be heard.”

Standing outside the Cabinet Office, G4S member Mohammed said that the strikers are there “because we are fighting for a decent and fair pay rise for everybody”.

The live stream also heard from strikers outside the Department for Business and Trade and from the Canary Wharf Hub in London.

Please send messages of solidarity to laurab@pcs.org.uk.