After a short but intense campaign, Marta, a receptionist at the Speak Up London language school, has won a week’s unpaid wages and a glowing reference.
Marta was sacked without reason and without the required one week’s notice. She got in contact with Solidarity Federation who quickly organised over a dozen people to March into the bosses’ office with a letter demanding she be given a week’s pay in lieu of notice and a positive reference.
After Speak Up failed to respond to Marta’s letter, SolFed and other supportive individuals and organisations organised a massive blockade of the Speak Up Facebook page. Hundreds of post appeared within the 45 minutes. An hour and half into the action, Speak Up shut down their Facebook page entirely to all UK users.
The next day SolFed received an email from the bosses at Speak Up: they were paying up. It contained a copy of Marta’s final payslip alongside a copy of a positive reference letter.
Congratulations to Marta and thank you to everyone who supported the campaign!
To all workers in the language teaching industry: we don’t have to accept bullying bosses or bad conditions lying down. When we “speak up” the bosses will pay up.
Whether, like Marta, you have no contract or just a lousy contract, don’t be afraid to fight back. Talk to your workmates and think how you can collectively fight to improve your working conditions. And if you need help, don’t hesitate to contact SolFed.