The UK foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, is facing calls for an investigation into why 14 cleaners could face disciplinary measures for raising the issue of their low wages with him.
Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, said Hammond should investigate the conduct of the Foreign Office cleaning contractor, Interserve, after the company took action against 14 staff who requested a meeting to discuss the London living wage.
Some of the cleaning staff and activists at Citizens UK are protesting outside the Foreign Office about their treatment after they were sent letters by Interserve asking them to attend an interview that could lead to suspension or punishment.
Three are also facing redundancy and believe they have been targeted because of their campaigning on pay, although the FCO and its contractor insist this is unrelated.
Benn said: “It is extraordinary that cleaners working at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office appear to have been called in by their employer because they had had the temerity to write a letter to the foreign Secretary about their rates of pay. Philip Hammond needs to investigate Interserve’s conduct immediately.”
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said the case showed that the government needed to set better guidelines for its contractors so staff could get a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.
“The Tories like to talk the talk on the living wage but as they have shown with their own living wage not even being a proper living wage, they seldom match their own empty words,” he added.
The controversy arose after the cleaners signed a letter to Hammond congratulating him on his job in the new Conservative government and seeking to discuss their pay on 21 July. Six weeks later, the 14 were served with a letter by Interserve, saying they were under investigation for “bringing the contract into disrepute”. Their letter to Hammond was enclosed as evidence.
Cleaners at the FCO are paid just over the minimum wage, at £7.05 an hour, which will rise to the government’s “national living wage” of £7.20 an hour for over-25s from April. The cleaners were asking to discuss the London weighting of the living wage as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, based on the cost of living in the capital, which is £9.15 an hour.
Katy Rojas, a cleaner from Ecuador, said she had no doubt that her redundancy was linked to her campaigning for a higher wage. She said Hammond may not have known the cleaners were being disciplined and some were being made redundant but he was now the “only one that can stop this”.
“I was one of the best cleaners there. I never had any trouble with my job. Some clients sent emails saying I was great. They made me redundant and kept people who were in the company two years and had grievances against them for bad behaviour and not me,” she said.
“All my workmates know they have made me redundant because they want to intimidate the cleaners and give them a lesson … One of my bosses laughed at me and said, ‘You’re never going to get the London living wage sending letters to the minister because you don’t work for the Foreign Office.’ I know that, but I work in the building of the Foreign Office.
“It is not a crime to ask for better wages for me and my workmates. What they pay is not enough for any of the people who work hard. Cleaning is horrible and hard work. No one should be treated like a criminal and made redundant because I spoke out for me and my workmates.”
The Rev Rosemia Brown, a community leader with Citizens UK, said the group was calling on Hammond to intervene to stop the disciplinary process and ensure that no one at the FCO felt intimidated for signing a letter. Citizens UK has written to Hammond asking him to look into the case and match other departments – including the Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Energy and Climate Change – which already pay the London living wage.
Paul Jennings, a partner at law firm Bates, Wells and Braithwaite, which represents a group of the employees, said it was a “genuinely troubling case” and he was seeking an explanation from Interserve before considering issuing formal legal proceedings. “The letter to the minister was professional and courteous. It conveyed a very compelling and personal account of the pressures faced by people working as cleaners within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,” he said.
“Shortly after the letter was sent, a number of these individuals were made redundant, and we understand that the individuals who signed the letter have been subjected to an ongoing disciplinary process. It is extremely worrying that a group of vulnerable and low-paid workers may face possible sanctions for raising their voices about the impact of low pay.”
Asked about the cleaners’ claims, a spokeswoman for Interserve said the redundancy process had no bearing on any other employee issues. “Interserve is committed to paying its employees a fair wage and our personnel will benefit from the new national living wage when it comes into effect next year,” she said.
“Following the FCO’s decision to close Old Admiralty building, we are reducing the number of cleaning staff on the account and have been in a process of consultation with employees and unions over the proposed changes. This is now drawing to a close and a number of people will be affected by redundancy. This process has been undertaken in full cooperation with unions and employee representatives and has no bearing on any other employee issues.”
A spokesman for the FCO said: “We are in the process of vacating the Old Admiralty building, which has reduced the number of cleaning staff required. We have not taken any disciplinary measures against any cleaning staff.
“Our contractor, Interserve, has assured us that no one has been made redundant as a result of a letter asking for an increase in pay. From April 2016, all Interserve staff will benefit from the new mandatory national living wage.”
