Black, Brown and migrant workers at a major advertising firm that made anti-racism pledges after George Floyd's murder have gone on strike over pay.

Outsourced night cleaners at London’s Ogilvy UK – part of the global Ogilvy group – walked out today after the agency refused to negotiate on higher wages and full sick pay.

The workers, who are directly employed by outsourcing firm Anabas, say unsociable hours and the high cost of living mean they deserve more than the £11.95 an hour they get under the London Living Wage. They are demanding an increase to £15 an hour to take into account the mental and physical toll of consistent night shifts and the rise in food costs and bills.

One cleaner told openDemocracy they were forced to skip meals, while another said her mental health had suffered while working two jobs to make ends meet.

Union United Voices of the World (UVW) said Ogilvy had the ultimate say over pay and conditions for its outsourced workers and expressed disappointment that bosses had refused to engage with members’ demands. It said the cleaners, who are all from Black, Brown and migrant backgrounds, "deserve to be treated with as much respect as anyone else who works at Ogilvy".

The Ogilvy cleaners are among more than 100 outsourced migrant workers striking with UVW today across seven different workplaces that also include the Department for Education, Amazon and the London School of Economics.

Ogilvy and its parent company WPP were among the many organisations to announce anti-racism commitments following the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by George Floyd’s murder.

“Achieving racial parity will not be easy. In fact, it requires adopting a new ethos – one that demands empathy, humility, candor, consistency, and courage,” it said at the time. It also published an “anti-racist handbook”.

Kojo Kyerewaa of Black Lives Matter UK (BLM UK) told openDemocracy that allyship must be “consistent from the cleaners’ cupboard through to the boardroom”.

He said: “It's easy for companies to pay lip service to the idea of racial equality when they are just considering the boardroom… It's not good enough for these things just to be talked about, and badged at corporate events, and public statements.

“Ogilvy shouldn’t really talk about racial equality until they put their money where their mouth is, and ensure that these lower paid workers are respected as much as their statements claim they [are].”

'I’m always tired'

“When I get home… I can’t sleep. My sleeping pattern has totally changed, and this has really affected my mental health,” cleaner Abiodun Durodola, 56, told openDemocracy.

Durodola has been working as a cleaner in Ogilvy’s London office for a year. When her night shift finishes at 4am, she travels to her second cleaning job where she works part-time for an additional two and a half hours each day, just to be able to keep up with the rising cost of living.

“The job is tiring. I’m stressed and the wages are not OK for a night shift… I take my time to come here, deprive myself of sleep, and I come here to work all night for eight hours,” she added.

A recent survey of cleaners by UNI Global Union highlighted the detrimental impact of night shifts including isolation, difficulties in maintaining relationships, strained social lives, poor sleep schedules, exhaustion and adverse impacts on physical and mental health.

The cleaners are demanding full sick pay to address these heightened health risks, such as increased risk of depression, workplace injuries, and heart attacks. The legal minimum sick pay they currently receive means they miss out on any wages for the first three days off sick, after which they receive £109.40 per week.

Durodola said she no longer spends time with family or friends as a result of stress and exhaustion, adding: “If I'm respected, I think they should pay me good money. Because they are earning good money – they sit down in their office there, and they drink their tea and coffee, while we’re doing the dirty jobs.”

Anabas posted a profit of £2.4m in 2022. Ogilvy UK made a loss of £3.3m but its accounts show it has net cash of £12.5m. And WPP – the largest advertising agency group in the world – has paid shareholders over £3bn since 2019.

Meanwhile, cleaner Ibou Mboh, 20, told openDemocracy that he has to choose between eating or getting to work.

“The hardest part is the hours… I’m always tired. I’m dealing with high functioning anxiety,” he said.

Mboh has been working as a cleaner for two and a half years after arriving in the UK from Mali when he was 17.

“I used to go to college. I worked part time, just on Saturdays. After one year, I just couldn’t do [both],” he added. “It’s stressful sometimes. Especially when you’re young. I want to go to school but I’m trying to get rid of the bills and rent… I’ve been trying really hard to make some extra money by learning new skills online. That's what I've been doing lately. So that I can go back to school.”

He added: “I’m paying rent, I don’t live with my parents. I don’t drive, I don’t go out, really. I’m fine with that. But I want to be more comfortable. I’ve been skipping meals so that I can afford my transport.”

Kyerewaa of BLM UK told openDemocracy: “As always, unfortunately Black and Brown workers are the least regarded, even though they are the first to face risks and the dangers of low pay, overcrowded housing and so on. BLM UK believes it is absolutely right that these workers get the minimum £15 an hour, and that Ogilvy and WPP should pay up and respect the workers who have been providing services diligently to them over the past few years.”

For Kyerewaa, this dispute is an example of how race and class intersect. “Race operates along class lines, and it's not completely dependent on class, but the disproportionate effects of racism affect people of working-class backgrounds more,” he said.

Ogilvy states on its website: “We aspire to be intentional allies to all individuals impacted by past and present systems of discrimination and marginalization”.

As part of its anti-racism commitments, WPP partnered with the Black Equity Organisation for its launch in 2022, offering free marketing support.

The Black Equity Organisation, which features prominent trustees such as David Lammy, David Olusoga and Dame Vivian Hunt, expressed solidarity with the workers.

CEO Dr Wanda Wyporska told openDemocracy: “We know the decision to take strike action is never an easy one, and that the union is more than capable of representing its members. It would be unhelpful for BEO to intervene. That said, we are keen to show our solidarity with workers by not crossing their picket lines.”

An Ogilvy spokesperson told openDemocracy it requires contractors to pay the London Living Wage. They added: “We have been assured by Anabas that they are engaging in constructive dialogue with their employees in relation to any issues they have.”

A spokesperson for Anabas said: “We are engaging with our evening cleaning team both collectively and on a voluntary one to one basis to discuss any concerns they raise both as a group or individually.”

As well as today, the cleaners are set to strike on Thursday and on Tuesday next week.

A UVW spokesperson said: “We are calling on Ogilvy to do the right thing, accept responsibility for this dispute and start negotiating."