A row has broken out after it was announced that the cleaners who empty Sir Sadiq Khan’s bins at City Hall and work on the Tube will continue to be employed by a private firm.
Transport for London confirmed it will award a five-year contract for cleaning services to a private contractor rather than bring the cleaners “in-house” as directly-employed workers. The chosen contractor is due to be named in the coming weeks.
TfL said it took the decision on “value for money” grounds, and in order to secure specialist services, after holding several reviews in the wake of the commitment by the London mayor to explore the “insourcing” of cleaning services.
But the RMT union – which has led protests outside City Hall in the battle to win better terms and conditions for cleaners - criticised the decision.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “It is disgraceful that despite repeated promises from the Mayor, including telling our union he supports bringing cleaners back in-house, TfL has once again chosen to outsource this vital service.
"This decision is at odds with other transport authorities, like Transport Scotland and Transport for Wales, who already insource their cleaners.”
TfL has promised that, as part of the new contract, a pilot scheme would be established to understand how it cleaning services could be delivered in-house “in an efficient, affordable and productive manner” in the future.
However this is regarded as a “sop” by the union. Mr Dempsey said: “Talk of ‘progress’ sometime in the future is not good enough.
"Sadiq Khan may want to do the right thing, but TfL is clearly working to a different agenda.
"The mayor needs to step in, take control, and use the break clauses to bring our cleaners back in-house as soon as possible."
The new contract - which replaces the outsourced contract awarded in 2017 - will cover the cleaning of Tube stations, trains and bus stations. It will also cover TfL head office buildings, the London Transport Museum and waste collection at City Hall.
The contract, which is due to start in April next year, also incorporates waste management and pest control across the TfL network and includes a 24/7 dedicated team to tackle the epidemic of graffiti on the Tube.
Sir Sadiq said: “I'm delighted that TfL have committed to this comprehensive pilot, to explore how they could deliver affordable cleaning services in-house, as I have long championed insourcing where possible.
“I am pleased to see TfL taking this important step to explore potential benefits for customers, as well as for hardworking and dedicated cleaning staff.”
Cleaning contractor working for TfL receive the London Living Wage – currently £14.80 an hour, and higher than the national minimum wage – as well as a guaranteed minimum number of hours a week and free travel on TfL services.
The contract is for five years with the possibility of a two-year extension.
A TfL spokesperson said: “We will be working closely with the successful bidder and our trade union partners to work through the detail of this pilot, and will provide more details in due course.”
