Cleaners employed by the contractor Churchill on multiple train companies across the south east of England will strike again on 12-14 March. Their strike on 23 February was the largest cleaners’ strike in mainline railway history. The next walkout will extend the action to 48 hours.
The cleaners are demanding a pay increase to £15 per hour, and a company sick pay scheme, although RMT’s ultimate demand is for jobs to be brought in-house, guaranteeing parity of terms and conditions with directly-employed staff, including pensions and staff travel benefits.
An RMT statement said: “Churchill’s treatment of cleaning staff who have risked their health and safety to work throughout the pandemic is a disgrace. Workers on low pay are much worse off now than 12 months ago and multimillion-pound contractor Churchill has failed to recognise that.”
Picket lines will be held throughout the region, including major London stations such as King’s Cross St. Pancras, Victoria, and Stratford.
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