'Impoverished' Servest Cleaners Join Railway Strikers

16 December 2016 | Updated 01 January 1970

RMT cleaners working for FM service provider Servest on a Great Western Railway contract took strike action on Friday December 16 coinciding with the major strike on the Southern Rail Network.

The RMT Union is claiming 'serious bullying and discrimination' along with 'poverty working conditions' for the cleaners who transferred from Mitie to Servest when the contact changed hands.

A delegation of cleaners and their supporters also travelled to GWR’s Swindon head office to deliver a petition, while Union leader Mick Cash said GWR is 'hiding behind its sub-contractor to avoid proper responsibilities to the workers who clean their trains'. He said: "The dispute involves issues of: pay; parity with GWR Staff; annual leave; provision of safety clothing and an agreement for a permanent workforce and an end to the use of agency workers."

Further strike action has been called for Friday and Saturday December 23 & 24.

Picture: Heading in to the sidings? Servest train cleaners are striking

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 16 December 2016

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