United Voices of the World

United Voices of the World
United Voices of the World
AbbreviationUVW
Founded6 January 2014;
10 years ago (2014-01-06)[1]
HeadquartersBethnal Green, London
Location
Members
Increase 4,720 (2021)[2]
Key people
Petros Elia, co-founder and General Secretary
Websitewww.uvwunion.org.uk

United Voices of the World (UVW) is an independent grassroots trade union, established in London in 2014.

Following a vote held at its 2021 AGM, the post of General Secretary was re-established after three years of non-hierarchical leadership, and voting seats on the Executive Committee were assigned to elected representatives of key sectors of the membership. Uncontested elections for General Secretary in August 2021 resulted in Petros Elia winning by default.

Its members are mainly migrant cleaners and workers in other service or low-wage/outsourced industries. UVW has a strong association with the Latin American community, having been formed amid a protracted effort to secure the London Living Wage for migrant cleaners at the Barbican Centre. This was the subject of a 25-minute documentary, Waging a Living in London (2014).[3]

In 2019, UVW launched Legal Sector Workers United (LSWU), an initiative supported by Michael Mansfield QC.[4] Groups of architects,[5] designers/cultural workers[6] and workers from domestic/sexual violence organisations[7] also organise within the union. In 2020, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation granted UVW the funds to employ two full-time organisers to unionise the private childcare sector.[8]

UVW's longest-running active campaign is at the Ministry of Justice, where cleaners, security guards and receptionists outsourced to OCS are demanding the London Living Wage plus parity of sick pay and annual leave with civil servants. Their first strike took place in August 2018,[9] and a second was staged in January 2019 in conjunction with PCS union members striking at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.[10] In July 2020, UVW won recognition as trade union for OCS workers at the Ministry following a 70% vote in favour.[11]

  1. ^ PRESS RELEASE: Metropolitan Police to face legal action after unlawfully detaining barrister during lawful strike at St. George’s University
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference UKCO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Megaphone Films Completes Waging a Living in London". Digital Cinema Report. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  4. ^ Bowcott, Owen (20 April 2019). "Barristers, solicitors and paralegals urged to join single trade union". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Architecture workers are being exploited during pandemic warns union". Dezeen. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  6. ^ "What Does It Mean to Unionize When You're Your Own Boss?". Eye on Design. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Our job is to help victims of domestic violence – but we still face bullying at work". The Independent. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  8. ^ "UVW is hiring two full time organisers!". United Voices of the World. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Cleaners at the Ministry of Justice go on strike for the London living wage". Metro. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  10. ^ Bowcott, Owen (10 January 2019). "Ministry of Justice workers to stage two-day strike over pay". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Low-paid MoJ staff win vital vote for union recognition". Morning Star. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.