Tres cosas

Tres cosas is Spanish for 'three things' and is the name of the campaign for justice for university cleaners. The 'three things' at the heart of the campaign are: sick pay, holidays and pensions. The campaign started (I think) at SOAS which is a hotbed of militancy at the University of London. There was a strike there today with music and dancing on the picket line all day.

Many of the cleaners are Latin American - hence the Spanish name for the campaign. They're among the most undervalued of university employees. (In fact, they're not even really university employees at all as they're employed by a contractor.) They are treated very badly. For example, when it was agreed that their pay would be raised to the London living wage (currently £8.80 ph as opposed to the national minimum wage of £7.65) in many cases their hours were decreased so their take-home pay remained the same.

It's a noisy and colourful campaign. And they deserve to win!