Battersea MP praises 'the power of unions' in New Covent Garden Market wage battle

The MP for Battersea, Balham and Wandsworth has celebrated "the power of unions" following a new pay deal secured for workers at New Covent Garden Market with the help of industrial action.

Security guards at the fruit, vegetable and flower wholesaler were set to follow up strike action taken in September and October with a further five days of strikes from Sunday (December 11). During last ditch talks with employers, the outsourcing company OCS Group, the pay rise they secured from £9.69 per hour to £11.05 and from 1 April, 2023, £11.30, amounts to an annual 22 per cent pay rise.

Marsha de Cordova MP, who visited the security guards on the picket line during their strike action earlier this year and wrote to OCS and New Covent Garden Market (NCGM) demanding higher pay, took to social media to express her delight at the result and praised "what can be achieved when workers stand together".

Credit: Office of Marsha de Cordova MP

She wrote: "I am so pleased that together with Unite the union we have secured a real living wage for security guards at New Covent Garden Market!

"I visited the security guards on the picket line and wrote a letter to NCGM and OCS demanding that they pay the real living wage. Given the current cost-of-living crisis, I made it clear that workers couldn't accept any less.

"This victory shows the power of unions and what can be achieved when workers stand together. It serves as an important precedent for embattled workers across the UK."

New Convent Garden Market is operated by the Covent Market Garden Authority (CMGA), a statutory corporation that reports to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) without receiving any direct government funding.