ICR strikers rally in South Kensington
Cancer kills people every day, destroying relationships, families and friendships. The disease terrifies people. Yet some of those tasked with finding treatments, causes and cures for it are paid so badly that they have been on strike for two months.
The battle at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) has become one of the most significant strikes in Britain—it is now an all-out and indefinite strike.
Strikers include scientific researchers and the many people whose work makes that research possible. People who work in the stores, maintain the labs and keep the scientific instruments clean are among the lowest paid.
And those doing the research say ICR has taken their skills and expertise for granted. Striker Caitlin is among them. She studied for years to get a PhD and become a scientist, but now she feels pushed out of a career that she loves.
“I’m from a town in Wales called Merthyr Tydfil,” she told Socialist Worker. “There was a big uprising in the 1830s over suppressed wages and everyone is really proud of that.
“Like many former industrial towns, it’s struggled. There is a lot of poverty.
“Coming from there I’ve always been proud to get the level of education I have. I was determined to work in cancer research. Cancer has touched my own life. It’s not just a job, it’s a vocation.
“I’d like to say to young girls that it’s a brilliant career. But I feel that ICR is turning me into a liar. How can I tell people to go into academia when it’s not sustainable? I’m getting poorer.”
Caitlin said that low wages for scientists were turning the clock back to a time when science was a pastime for the wealthy. It means science will only be done by a less diverse group of people.
As they enter their third month of action, the strikers are still standing strong, with picket lines every day at their sites in Chelsea in west London and Sutton in south London.
The Unite union members are angry that pay has failed to keep up with the cost of living. In 2019, bosses removed incremental pay scales that had given workers the opportunity to increase their pay as they progressed in their careers.
This means that in real terms, workers have lost 16 percent of their pay since then. To add insult to injury, the top boss, Kristian Helin, has had a 40 percent pay rise and now rakes in a salary of £457,000.
The strikers know ICR, which claims £154.5 million in unrestricted reserves, can afford to pay more. But the strikes are about more than pay.
They are about whether this kind of work and the people who do it are valued.
“It’s the disrespect—the way management speaks to workers who do the research, who fundraise for it and communicate the research,” says striker Lynn. She works on making treatments for children with incurable brain tumours.
“Does society want me to stop doing this work and work in the City for a bigger salary?” she asks. “I’m out here on the picket line for my colleagues who are struggling. No-one should be going into debt working full time on necessary cancer research.”
ICR boasts over a century of world-leading cancer research. It was scientists there who first made breakthroughs in understanding the causes of cancer. Scientists there have discovered more cancer drugs than at any other centre in the world.
Chris explains that scientific funding is dropping dramatically—including at other institutions, such as the Jodrell Bank Observatory—so it’s a wider issue than ICR.
But, he says, it’s “shortsighted” for ICR to try to save money by not paying workers a living wage.
“It’s a bad environment for scientific research. But the top management are getting paid enough that they should be the ones finding a solution.”
Chris says people will go elsewhere if ICR doesn’t pay enough for them to afford to live in London. And workers from other parts of the world will be put off because ICR has cut back the amount of support it gives them for visas.
He points to the way ICR cut its audio-visual department, meaning technology in lecture theatres no longer works properly. Chris says world-renowned scientists come to ICR to give lectures. He adds it’s “embarrassing when the tech doesn’t work and you can’t call anyone to make it work”.
“I’ve been here 27 years. I’ve seen a lot of great science,” he says. “But if we can’t get great scientists, we won’t be able to do world-leading research.”
Some workers at ICR regularly work 15-hour days. And workers are keen to stress that they are willing to work hard if a job needs to be done.
But they want their goodwill to be reciprocated.
Talking about her job, Katy says, “Everyone is squeezed. Our jobs get more and more complicated. More and more is expected for less and less in return. They don’t value us.”
Another striker explained that on the Sutton site, one of the biggest issues is the changes bosses made to the staff canteen—and that bosses didn’t listen to workers’ views about them.
“There is no place to get hot food,” they said. “There’s less space to sit and eat. People are being forced to eat at their desks. The canteen has changed suppliers, and now prices have risen.
“We had no say in that. We all shouted loudly. There was a big petition and they ignored us. I liked that canteen and now it’s awful.”
But the striker explained that union organising had forced management to retreat on some issues. “They were going to charge for parking,” they said. “We have won on that. Yes, we need eco-friendly ways of travelling. But Sutton does not have good public transport links.”
Bosses have also backtracked on plans to remove some workers from the USS pension scheme, which would introduce a two-tier pension provision.
The resolve at ICR is impressive and determined, but this now has to be a fight for the whole trade union movement. Those workers, who daily help drive back the scourge of cancer, are now the ones who need our support.
ICR strikers have danced and chanted on their picket lines every day. And they’ve held marches and rallies and themed strike days—for example, one centred on anti-racism.
They have had solidarity visits from everyone from Unite general secretary Sharon Graham to comedian and cancer survivor Mark Steel—and even a group of bus drivers arriving in a double-decker battle bus.
Union rep Aiden says, “The picket lines are what give the strike its power—and they’ve been amazing.”
Strong picket lines keep the pressure on management. When reps go to negotiate with the bosses, having lots of workers actively joining the strike helps back them up.
ICR reps have taken striking workers from the picket lines into negotiations to explain directly to bosses the impact low pay is having on their lives.
The picket lines can also help keep morale up—striking can be an isolating experience if you are stuck at home.
“And it keeps the strike visible,” says Aiden. “People who cross the picket line and go into work have to make that choice every day.”
ICR strikers are confident they can win. Caitlin says, “It’s a landmark strike that can signal what’s possible in other workplaces if you stand up for what you deserve. Let them know how valuable you are.”
Liz Wheatley from Camden Unison explained how trade unionists can help the ICR strike win.
“We had a striker from ICR come to our online weekly members’ meeting,” she said.
The meeting happened just as Unison members in local government were being balloted for strikes over pay.
“As our members were starting to receive their ballot papers, they were hearing from people who had already made the decision to strike. They were encouraging us,” said Liz.
“It was great for them to come and get support from the branch. But it was also helpful to us. It made it real why we need to act too.”
The Unison branch at London’s Homerton Hospital also invited ICR strikers to meet its members.
Homerton union activist Jordan Rivera explained that they had invited health strikers from across Britain to come too, as well as radical economist Grace Blakeley and the union’s general secretary, Andrea Egan.
“The whole day was about putting yourself in the bigger picture,” she said. “We don’t have to accept that there is not enough money for the NHS.”
“The ICR workers are doing cancer research, so obviously it’s connected to health,” she said.
“And some of the things they talked about, like not being able to get hot food at the canteen, made people at Homerton say, ‘That’s typical’.
Everybody knows what that feels like.”
The Unison branch made a £500 donation to the ICR strike fund.
Big, well-organised union branches such as these have an established tradition of solidarity with other groups of workers that trade unionists have fought for.
“But everyone can do something,” said Jordan. “Anybody could take an ICR leaflet round their office and ask people to give a small amount.
“Everybody knows how important cancer research is. Everybody has a relative or knows someone who has cancer. It’s outrageous that people doing that research are not paid enough.”
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