150 activists participated in a protest against giant fashion brand Topshop in Oxford Street this Saturday, the 14th of May. The protest brought traffic to a standstill for 20 minutes and police were called in as activists surrounded the shop with banners, as the group chanted “Topshop, shame on you“.
The protesters were demonstrating for living wage for cleaners working at the fashion chain. Rumours recently surfaced that two cleaners were sacked and suspended after joining a union. Cleaners are paid £7.50 per hour which is 30p above the minimum wage but £1.90 below the London living wage.
Flares were set off in busy crowds and the demonstration continued to the Marble Arch Topshop store. Again the demonstration stopped traffic and the police faced off several protesters.
An activist from the protest group Class War, Aysan Dennis told the Evening Standard: “We want our voices heard. This is a class war”.
Topshop claimed the cleaners were outsourced by a separate company and the wages were not under their control.
#Peace.Love.Topshop
