Gardeners who look after the grounds at Downing Street are on strike to protest against a change in the way they are paid and to call for the living wage.
Staff from several of London’s most famous parks, who also look after the gardens at No 10, are staging a protest at Downing Street on Tuesday over plans to pay people monthly rather than weekly.
The GMB union says this will mean their employer, OCS, withholds two weeks’ pay, which staff would only get back when they leave.
Gary Carter, GMB regional officer, said: “OCS will offer the two weeks as a loan that they will deduct over 12 months, putting the employees into debt and wiping out any pay award. OCS will save thousands to the detriment of the employees who will be out-of-pocket.”
Carter said the strike would have an impact on several high-profile events. “The state opening of parliament is coming up and so too is trooping the colour at St James’s Park. Gardeners from St James’s Park also maintain the Downing Street gardens. It is also the main bedding season. Strike action will have a major impact on these events.”
Gardeners and maintenance staff covering Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, St James’s Park, Green Park, Grosvenor Square and Downing Street are taking part in the action. GMB says the dispute was triggered when OCS moved to change the way people were paid and said negotiations had failed.
OSC denied it was withholding money from staff or that workers would get into debt, adding it was making the changes “for reasons of efficiency and in order to reduce the errors”.
It said in a statement: “In response to staff concerns, we have staggered the changeover period in order to minimise the impact on our staff. We are also offering an interest-free bridging loan to cover the two-week gap between the last weekly pay date and the first monthly payment. In response to staff requests, the repayment period for this loan has been extended from three to 12 months.”
