Friday 27-07-2018 - 11:56

In January 2018, at the last Annual General Meeting (AGM), a motion was proposed entitled “Elior: Food and Staffing Issues”. The motion noted that:

• The food in the canteen does not maintain variety with nutritional value and is expensive.
• KU has a policy on modern slavery which recognizes the London Living Wage.  Elior employees are paid £7.50 an hour which is below the London Living Wage (£9.40ph).
• Elior management are not abiding to their employee contracts as staff who are supposed to be paid for their overtime have had this rejected.

It was believed that the price and quality of food sold was unsustainable for the students paying over £9,000pa. Moreover, our university is a place of ethical standards which Elior do not honour and students have the responsibility to question the standards and have a say in the chosen supplier for catering in university canteens.

Students voted in favour of passing this motion and so the AGM resolved to:

• For Students, the SU, and University to stand by Elior employees who are paid below the London Living Wage & National Living Wage by lobbying Elior to change this.
• The Union of Kingston Students (UKS) & the University to boycott Elior as a primary catering supplier in their internal and external events and meetings.
• Students to sign the petition and letter to Elior head office expressing our concerns with the current situation at Kingston.
• Students to make each other aware, think twice about buying from the canteen, and to keep in mind that we have the power to change this.

Your campus officers and union staff met and discussed what this meant and established a complete interpretation of the motion; which is as follows:

• On behalf of our students, and Elior employees, the union will lobby Elior to increase the wages of their employees to match the London Living Wage
• The Union of Kingston Students will not use Elior as its primary caterer for any internal or external events.
  • However, this does not affect a student’s individual rights or choices. At any event, a student has the right to, for their own self, choose to use or purchase food and/or drinks from Elior.
• Without providing Elior catering, UKS can hire or host meetings and events for students in Elior-owned spaces such as The Picton Room at Penrhyn Road or any campus canteens.

If you have any further questions or queries, contact Whaqar Hussain, the 2018-2019 Union Development Officer via email (W.hussain@kingston.ac.uk) or visit the Union Space at Penrhyn Road.