Word reaches Tubeworker HQ that ABM has been salami-slicing its staffing levels at a number of stations... again.
At Oxford Circus, for example, the contractor wants to have just two cleaners on the 07:00-15:00 shift, a ludicrous proposition given the size of the station and the workload involved.
ABM is able to attempt these kinds of cuts because it has an "output" contract with TfL. There's no fixed staffing level (i.e., "input") it needs to provide, it just commits to getting the cleaning done (i.e., the "output"). So if ABM bosses decide they can manage with fewer cleaners, it can cut jobs.
RMT resistance has pushed back job cuts in the past, but ABM usually has another go every year. At Oxford Circus, workers at the station and union reps are pushing back, letting the LU manager who oversee the contract know that the cut isn't acceptable.
Ultimately the only solution is to bring cleaning in-house, so LU can oversee staffing levels directly and cleaners have the same rights and conditions as the directly-employed staff they work alongside every day.
