Barclays’ sweeping changes mean a living wage for cleaners

A campaign by the Amicus section of general union Unite has produced a commitment from Barclays Bank to increase its contract cleaners’ pay to £7.50 an hour in its London offices.

The new hourly rate, which will be paid to about 1,000 workers, is 30p higher than the current “London living wage” determined by the Greater London Authority’s Living Wage Unit (see last month’s Workplace Report). It was agreed during negotiations held under Unite’s partnership agreement with the bank.

Keith Brookes, national secretary of Unite’s Amicus section, said Barclays was “leading the way in recognising the need to pay a decent wage” but warned: “Many thousands of workers are still getting paid below the poverty threshold. We will continue to lobby other employers in the City to do the decent thing.”