Merseyside politicians from different parties have come together to criticise the 'appalling treatment' of cleaning staff on Merseyrail trains and at stations around the region.
Seven MPs, the Mayor of Liverpool and councillors from Labour, Lib Dems, Greens and Tories have all put their names to a strongly-worded letter to Merseyrail boss Andy Heath.
The letter concerns the treatment of cleaning staff for the networks trains and stations, who are outsourced to private companies Stadler and Mitie respectively.
Read more: Liverpool schools boss issues update on Covid testing and isolation
Station cleaners are currently taking strike action against what the RMT union describes as 'poverty pay', with the campaign calling for a minimum of £10 an hour for the cleaning staff.
The union says the private firm is also imposing new working practices which will worsen the work-life balance of the staff.
At the same time, train cleaners employed by Swiss manufacturer Stadler are balloting for strike action as the union says they are being threatened with a 'fire and rehire' move to worse contracts.
The letter to Mr Heath is signed by Liverpool MPs Paula Barker, Dan Carden, Ian Byrne, Maria Eagle, Kim Johnson, Mick Whitley, Margaret Greenwood, Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson and a host of councillors from different Mersey boroughs and across different parties.
It states: "This pandemic has shown clearly that our cleaners perform an essential service. Not only have they put their lives on the line to come into work when others were able to stay at home, but their hard work has kept vital public services safe and kept them running.
"Shamefully, your company is presiding over the appalling mistreatment of this heroic workforce.
"Merseyrail has outsourced the cleaning of stations to Mitie and trains to Stadler.
"Station cleaners are taking strike action because Mitie still refuses to pay these valuable cleaners the Real Living Wage, has cut holiday pay so that in some cases it’s below the National Minimum Wage and is imposing new working practices which worsen their work-life balance. Merseyrail’s station cleaners are among the lowest paid in the industry. Train cleaners employed by Stadler are balloting for strike action as their employer threatens to ‘fire and rehire’ them on worse contracts.
"This is a disgrace and as you are the client for these contracts, it’s your responsibility. The buck stops with you."
The letter calls on Merseyrail to intervene and resolve the disputes, which it says are 'bringing shame on our city region.'
It adds: "We also call on you to bring the station cleaners in-house when Mitie’s contract runs out in January next year.
"Outsourcing was always justified on the grounds that cleaning was non-core. How wrong that was. Outsourcing has led to low pay, workforce cuts and worsening service quality. It is time to roll back this failed dogma."
Responding to the letter, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: "Our members will welcome this fantastic support from Merseyside’s politicians and I hope Merseyrail recognise that the writing is on the wall.
"As we’ve pointed out before, they’ve done very nicely in recent years, distributing more than £150 million to their shareholders since taking up the contract, but their treatment of sub-contracted cleaners who have put their lives on the line throughout the pandemic is truly shameful.
"Outsourcing has seen the super-exploitation of low-paid essential workers in search of profit. Merseyrail need to get a grip on this situation, put their hands in their ample pockets, sort out the disputes and bring their cleaners in-house."
Responding to the letter, Andy Heath, Managing Director of Merseyrail, said: “We value the work of the cleaning teams who deliver an important service on our network with a great degree of pride, particularly during the challenges we have faced due to COVID-19. Both cleaning contracts in question are delivered by third parties Mitie and Stadler and like many organisations we work with trusted partner organisations to deliver such services.
“In relation to the current disputes, we have worked closely with MITIE to support a revised offer being made to the RMT. Discussions between Mitie and their employees continue and we are hopeful of a positive outcome.
“We remain committed to working with both Stadler and MITIE with the aim of resolving these disputes as soon as is possible.”
A Stadler spokesperson said: “Stadler prioritises its staff and treats them fairly and with respect.
"Ahead of the introduction of the new trains for the Merseyrail network, we are in the process of seeing each of our carriage cleaners for individual, face-to-face meetings to discuss new contracts, which may be issued to some of them.
"These meetings will give staff the opportunity to voice their opinions about pay and working conditions.
"The ideas they put forward will help shape the revised contracts, our policies and working practices. Our aim is to develop contracts that are better suited to people working on the brand new trains, which will replace the 40-year old legacy fleet.”
A spokesperson for Mitie said: “We are a proud champion of our 65,000 frontline heroes who are working in every corner of the UK to deliver vital services to keep the nation running. We have worked closely with our customer and have a proposal ready to discuss with RMT when we meet this Friday. In the meantime, our priority remains delivering services to the station and ensuring a clean and safe environment for employees and passengers.”
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here.
