Royal College of Art cleaners say abuse and sexual harassment allegations ignored for years

• Outsourced migrant cleaners at the Royal College of Art have launched a public campaign after years of alleged abuse and sexual harassment by a supervisor
• Cleaners say formal complaints to both RCA and its subcontractor, from at least 16 people since 2023, have been ignored, leaving them still working alongside the accused individual
• The cleaners and their union, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) are calling for the supervisor’s removal, an investigation into the handling of the complaints, and an end to disciplinary action against workers who spoke out

Thursday 2 April 2026: Cleaners at the Royal College of Art (RCA) have launched a public campaign calling for protection from workplace abuse and sexual harassment, alleging that the institution has failed to act on serious complaints about a supervisor over several years.

Through their union, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), the cleaners are urging staff, students, and alumni to call on the RCA to remove the supervisor in question, commission an independent investigation into how complaints have been handled, and provide meaningful support to affected workers.

Since 2023, at least 16 cleaners working at the RCA via subcontractor PfP Students have submitted formal complaints about the same supervisor. Evidence released by the union shows repeated attempts to raise concerns about their safety and wellbeing, yet the supervisor remains in post and cleaners say they are still required to work alongside him.

The allegations include claims that the supervisor made unwelcome advances, including telling one worker her husband was having an affair in an attempt to persuade her to go out drinking with him. Workers also report being subjected to degrading and abusive language, including sexist and homophobic slurs, and comments about their age and menstrual status. Additional allegations include the recording of conversations without consent and an incident in which a worker says she was physically prevented from leaving a room.

On 25 February, cleaners organised a protest to deliver a formal grievance letter to the RCA in person, hoping to prompt a response after years of inaction. The RCA declined to accept the letter. Following the protest, PfP Students placed four cleaners who participated under investigation for gross misconduct, accusing them of bringing the client into disrepute.

On 14 April, the IWGB is planning to hold another protest at the RCA's Battersea campus, calling for the supervisor’s removal, an investigation into the handling of the complaints, and an end to the disciplinary action against workers who spoke out.

Diana Zambrano Mendoza, cleaner at the RCA and member of the IWGB Union, said:

“Every day we have to go to work knowing that this man could be waiting around any corner. It keeps us in a state of permanent anxiety and prevents us from moving on with our lives.

Along with this fear, there is anger. Anger that - to the Royal College of Art - our suffering, our fear, our repeated cries for help do not seem to matter. As racialised, migrant cleaners, we are treated like second class staff. Outsourced and out of mind.

They want to keep us silent. But we will continue to raise our voices louder and louder until we are heard. We ask you to join us.”

Maritza Castillo Calle, Former cleaner and Vice President of the IWGB Union, said: “For years, the RCA’s cleaners pushed every panic button they could, and no one came to help them. Email after email, complaint after complaint, detailed degrading and fear-inducing treatment with serious consequences for their physical and mental health - yet the RCA continued to look the other way.

PfP Students' has made its priorities clear: cleaners who bravely spoke up about their experiences at a letter hand-in protest were not given immediate protection, but instead placed under investigation for gross misconduct, accused of bringing the client into disrepute.

This case highlights wider concerns about outsourcing across UK universities. Too often, respected institutions like the RCA rely on subcontractors like PfP Students, creating distance from serious issues raised by frontline workers - many of whom are migrants in insecure roles.

Cleaners at the RCA are now speaking out publicly, calling on the institution to be held accountable and to ensure that all workers on their sites get the dignity, safety and respect they deserve."

ENDS

For more information please contact Ellie Butcher on 07883 887613 or email press@iwgb.co.uk