Loading ...Students protest sudden deportation of SOAS cleaners
Students and trade union members held emergency protests in response to an early morning raid by immigration police at SOAS, which saw nine members of the cleaning staff detained and put on the fast track to deportation.
Between forty and fifty officials from the Border Control Agency arrived at approximately 6.45am when the entire cleaning staff were in a meeting called by SOAS’s cleaning contractor, ISS Cleaning & Hygiene Services.
All the employees were interrogated and their papers examined, resulting in the detention of nine people, accused of working illegally. One of the group, Heidi Campos, who has a husband also living in London, is to be flown to Colombia tonight. The other eight are due to be deported on Monday.
A rally was held this afternoon at SOAS in response to the arrests, where SOAS Unison trade union rep Sandy Nichol said “We’ll back whatever campaign we can to stop this disgraceful and appalling behaviour”.
He added “We’re not going to watch these people deported for the crime of trying to feed their families”.
He claimed the detainees have been denied access to legal representation and reported witnesses’ allegations that officers “manhandled” and handcuffed even one heavily pregnant employee, Luiza Venanacio.
A spokesperson from SOAS said “Today’s visit and its timing were not within the control of SOAS.
“We understand that this must have been distressing for those involved, and indeed our own colleagues. However we have been informed that the checks were carried out in a sympathetic manner. SOAS is legally obliged to co-operate fully with the authorities, even though the people involved are not employees of the School.”
However members of the Bloomsbury Living Wage Campaign alleged that SOAS and ISS management were complicit in organising the raid, at a time of union organisation and protest.
A lobby of the governing body had been due to take place today over the case of sacked cleaner Jose Stalin Bermudez.
Graham Dyer, Lecturer in Economics and SOAS UCU Branch Chair condemned the senior management as “racist and corrupt”.
“It is no coincidence that there is an immigration raid at a time when the UCU, Unison and the NUS are fighting against the victimisation of a migrant worker who has been at the heart of a fight that has improved the pay and conditions of workers here at SOAS,” he added.
Marya Ahmed, SOAS SU Welfare and Education Officer said the incident was another reason to bring cleaning in-house, ensure equal rights, and to make the university fully responsible for all staff on the premises.
At present some of the group are being held at Borough Police Station, and the rest at Old Street. Protesters divided themselves between the two sites to continue their demonstration outside.
It is thought the detainees may be transferred to a Dover Detention Centre, but activists have said that if they receive information about deportation flights due to leave from Heathrow, they may take their protest to the airport.
ISS declined to speak to London Student.
I’m Birkbeck Student and I work at SOAS. For SOAS to claim this raid was carried out in a “sympathetic manner” is a downright disgrace. How does scores of riot cops charging into an early morning meeting of migrant workers constitute ’sympathetic”?
I am angry about a School that rests on a reputation of study and assistance for the poorer people of the Global South to be complicit in this appalling treatment of some of these self same people is terrible.
Perhaps this first hand experience might appear as a case study on the syllabus of the MSc Migration, Diaspora and Development next year?
[...] Members of the Living Wage campaign don’t believe them, and students from SOAS have mounted protests over the raids with a number of members of staff have supported [...]
[...] London Student article here. [...]
[...] the ISS had detained or deported a number of the University’s cleaners when it was found they were in the country illegally. Apparently these demonstrations have been taking place every day and are gaining [...]
As a Birkbeck student, I had some sympathy with the plight of the workers, but I am now utterly fed up with the behaviour of the moronic protestors. Yesterday evening there were a significant number of students revising for and taking examinsations in the Birkbeck buildings. For this group of students to organise an extremely noisy protest outside buildings where exams are taking place almost defies belief.