Tuesday, 14th February 2012
ST PANCRAS station cleaners are to go on strike tomorrow (15.02.12) after being offered a "pathetic" 13p pay rise.
Staff working for cleaning contractor Initial currently earn £6.73 an hour, just 75p an hour above the Minimum Wage.
The RMT union, representing the Initial cleaners, are pushing for a rise to £8 an hour, still well short of the £8.30 London Living Wage, described by Prime Minister David Cameron as an "idea whose time has come".
"It is a shocking indictment of London as a city that the luxurious terminal is cleaned by an exploited workforce on poverty wages and that Network Rail have done nothing to stop their contractors, Initial, from treating their staff like dirt," said RMT leader Bob Crow.
Cleaning contractor OCS, which employs cleaners at nearby Euston station, has already agreed £8 an hour wages.
"OCS raised the basic rate to a minimum of £8 an hour and improved conditions such as sick pay," said Crow.
"Initial staff on the stations deserve similar recognition, not a kick in the teeth and a pathetic £6.76 an hour."
The two-day strike starts at 6.00am and, if Initial fails to raise its offer, is to be followed by another 48-hour stoppage on 1 March.
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