Cleaners to take on outsourcing firm in multiple contract dispute

Train cleaners who work for outsourced services firm Churchill are voting on possible strike action.

The cleaners work on Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern, Southeastern, High Speed 1 and Eurostar, and are members of the RMT transport union.

After two years of working hard to maintain hygiene throughout the pandemic, the cleaners have not been given a pay rise, occupational sick pay or access to the same travel facilities as other workers, the union says. This is despite Churchill paying its two directors a £3.8 million dividend last year, according to the RMT, which adds that it is the first time that action will potentially be co-ordinated against an employer across multiple contracts with different clients.

General secretary Mick Lynch said: “For decades, cleaners have been treated like dirt by the rail industry, but RMT is sending a clear message that those days are over.

“This pandemic has blown apart the argument that their work is ‘non-core’ and it’s time the industry started to treat them like the essential workers they are.