Scuffles broke out at the European headquarters of Goldman Sachs in London yesterday as some of the world’s highest-paid bankers were faced by a sit-in by cleaners protesting at low wages and poor employment conditions. The sit-in, which lasted about 90 minutes in the reception area of the bank’s Fleet Street office, is part of a campaign by cleaners who have targeted financial institutions in the City and nearby Canary Wharf.
Up to 40 protesters broke into the reception area carrying placards reading “Goldman Sucks”. They left after police were called. Goldman Sachs owns a minority stake in ISS, one of the world’s largest contract cleaning companies, which is in talks with the cleaners’ union, the Transport and General Workers.
Goldman said although it had a stake in ISS it did not use the company to clean its European headquarters. “We take our responsibilities as a shareholder of any company very seriously. And we also support responsible union representation and the right for people to earn a living wage,” it added.