OUTSOURCED workers at University College London (UCL) will launch strike action on Monday over pay.

The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) says that hundreds of security guards are paid half the rate paid 20 years ago when staff were directly employed by UCL.

The workers, who are from black and ethnic minority backgrounds, are employed by contractor Bidvest Noonan.

They want a pay rate of £15 an hour, though IWGB says that after taking inflation into account they should be paid £25 an hour.

They will strike on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Pickets will be in action and a rally and protests will be staged from 7.30am to 10am at UCL’s Malet Place entrance.

IWGB general secretary Henry Chango-Lopez said: “For 20 years these workers and their families have been driven deeper into poverty, for profit.

“The current cost-of-living crisis has been the last straw. This is more than a fight for fair pay, it’s a fight for survival. 

“It’s also a preview of what workers nationwide can expect if we don’t come together behind our most precarious workers on the front line against exploitation.

“That makes this a dispute of profound importance not just to the lowest paid workers in society who face it today, but the millions of workers who may face it tomorrow.” 

Security guard Farhana Uddin said: “All of us pull our weight, taking on more responsibilities than we should do, yet mismanagement and neglect from Bidvest Noonan is leaving me struggling.”

Bidvest Noonan was invited to comment.