At a glance
• DLR cleaners, represented by the RMT union, have launched two 48-hour strikes after subcontractor Bidvest Noonan only offered sick pay for “serious or terminal” illnesses
• The union accuses Bidvest Noonan of refusing meaningful negotiation for more than six months, calling its stance “disgraceful” and demanding that outsourced cleaners be brought in-house with fair sick pay and conditions.
• The dispute unfolds as the Government approved the £1.7b DLR extension to Thamesmead, but with no specific cash commitment
Cleaners on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) have begun strike action after being told sick pay would only be offered if they developed “serious or terminal” illness.
The RMT union says its members will walk out over two 48-hour periods over the coming week – Thursday, November 27 to Friday, November 28, and again on Monday, December 1 and Tuesday, December 2.
According to the RMT, DLR subcontractor Bidvest Noonan has failed to offer company sick pay to its staff, failing to follow in the footsteps of fellow contractor Amulet.
Both firms are hired by the DLR’s principal operator, Kelios Amey Docklands, or KAD, which operates the network for Transport for London.
A letter seen by The Standard showed Bidvest Noonan was only prepared to discuss with the RMT “the possibility of a week’s full sick pay for certain serious or terminal diagnoses”.
The RMT says it has tried repeatedly to engage with Bidvest Noonan over the issue but the contractor said it was “discussing the matter with TfL,” despite having had more than six months to respond to the union’s demand for contractual sick pay.
It said that with “no progress and no sign of meaningful engagement from the employer”, members had no choice but to take strike action.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Bidvest Noonan on the DLR have behaved appallingly and not made any offer on company sick pay that is remotely acceptable.
"Their refusal to engage properly with the union shows the contempt local company representatives have for their staff who do a vital job on DLR.
"Our members will not put up with this appalling treatment and are prepared to take sustained strike action if necessary."
TfL referred The Standard’s inquiries about the dispute to Keolis Amey Docklands. It said on Thursday that services on the DLR had not been affected.
The Government has given the go-ahead for the DLR to be extended to Thamesmead, via a new rail tunnel under the Thames.
However in her Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves did not make clear how much of the £1.7bn cost of the extension would be funded by the Government.
The Budget documents said the extension will be “funded through Transport for London (TfL) and Greater London Authority (GLA) borrowing”.
It added: “The majority of the costs will be met by TFL and GLA, with the Government also contributing over the long term.
“The Government will continue to work with London to finalise funding details and will continue to work with the GLA to look at options for innovative financing to support the delivery of infrastructure projects in the capital.”
TfL is in the process of introducing a new fleet of trains. This started in October but had to be halted after braking problems were discovered on one of the new trains.
RMT officials say Bidvest Noonan’s stance is “completely unacceptable” and “an insult to the workforce”.
They say the firm’s limited sick pay offer would be discretionary and only apply if managers decided that an employee met the firm’s criteria.
Mr Dempsey added: “Bidvest Noonan’s letter is nothing short of disgraceful. Offering one week of full sick and only for workers dealing with a serious or terminal diagnosis is scandalous, callous and deeply insulting.
"No decent employer should ever make frontline cleaners beg for basic dignity, or decide case-by-case who is ‘worthy’ of support when they are gravely ill.
"Our members keep the DLR safe, clean and running every single day. They deserve proper sick pay, fair contracts and respect, not discretionary scraps dressed up as progress."
RMT has called on Transport for London and Keolis Amey Docklands to intervene, insisting that outsourced cleaners must be brought “in house” and given parity of pay and conditions with directly employed staff.
Last week, the RMT protested outside City Hall ahead of Mayor’s Question Time, calling for the re-tendering of the Tube cleaning contract – which is separate to the DLR cleaning contract - to be halted and brought in-house.
DLR contractors are meant to be paid the London living wage, which increased in October to £14.80 an hour.
The RMT says that hundreds of cleaners working across London Underground and the wider TfL estate are outsourced and “denied the basic standards that other TfL staff receive”.
Contracted-out cleaners do not get company sick pay and only receive the legal minimum pension contribution, according to the union.
Cleaning contractors ABM and Mitie are understood to be bidding for the Tube contract.
