STRIKERS from the Institute of Cancer Research at its Chelsea and Sutton sites met at Sutton railway station yesterday as part of their ongoing strike for a proper rate of pay.
Danny Habte, one of the Chelsea strikers told the News Line: ‘We are still pushing the management to negotiate. The strike was made indefinite to speed things up.
‘We were forced to strike by the refusal of the management to meet our demands. We want to resolve the issue. Some managers are trying to cover for us but they don’t have the skills, they’re not trained.
‘We are here to show solidarity between workers at both sites.’
Andres Cupueran said: ‘I’m part of Facilities Assistants. In my department they have employed a lot of people from agencies. But these people have no training. Still the agency workers get better pay than we do. I’ve had information from my colleagues that these people are not working in the proper way. The work is not of the same standard.’
He alleged: ‘There have been many cases of samples including tissue samples being destroyed because items that should have been refrigerated were left on office desks. At the same time, management are protecting the ones who continue to work during the strike. We are fighting for fair pay for everyone. The people at the top get 20 or more times our salary, but when we go into talks, they say: “We don’t have money.”
‘I have a second job just to survive. So do many of my colleagues. In my other job, I start work at 3.30am, then come in and do a full day’s work after that. That tells you how bad our pay is.’
Leo Duckett, a striker at Sutton, spoke about Palestine. He said: ‘I support Palestine. What they had to endure has a detrimental effect on human morality. There has to be a resolution.
‘They should sanction Israel, but this government won’t do that. Most of them are so-called “friends of Israel”. Ordinary people support Palestine.’
Joe, another striker from Sutton, said: ‘I am on strike because of lack of pay progression, and erosion, so it becomes actually less because of inflation.
‘My trigger to mobilise was the closure of the canteen here in Sutton, without any consultation.
‘There are over 1,000 workers here, many of them work 12 hours a day. Some travel long distances. Depriving people of the chance of a hot meal made people very angry.’
