Vulnerable Workers

RMT is organising to recruit more members who work as Cleaners and Canteen staff. We have a ballot coming up for ISS cleaners who's pay and benefits are woefully low for the hard work they do. At Sodexo the RMT is working hard to get recognition for the RMT,

This all depends on getting as many people signed up as possible. Remember cleaners and canteen staff can currently join the RMT for £1 a week.

A recent cleaners protest, photo by Mark King

“Greedy Money Grabbing Cleaners” Demand Olympics Bonus

If only this were true! Whilst the debate continues about the financial rewards being offered to most LU staff across the combine for the Olympic Games, please spare a thought for our often downtrodden cleaning colleagues who are employed by the notorious Cleaning Companies.

Please download and distribute the attached poster.

RMT General Grades Committee decision:

We note that Carlisle Cleaning Services has agreed to recognise RMT as the sole trade union representing all hourly-paid cleaning employees, and ratify the recognition agreement contained in the file. We congratulate our Regional Organiser and DLR branch in achieving this. We instruct the General Secretary to include a report in RMT News and to send a personal letter by post to all our members on this contract explaining what recognition entails and enclosing a membership form so that they can encourage their workmates to join.

Strike action by Initial cleaners at St Pancras International kicked off at 6am this morning with pickets out in force and rail union RMT reporting fantastic support from the public in the fight against poverty pay. Around seventy pickets and supporters have brought horns, drums and a carnival atmosphere to the London Eurostar terminal.

The workers have not had a pay increase for maintaining the opulent Eurostar terminal in four years and have been offered a pathetic 13 p taking them to £ 6.76 an hour, miles short of Boris Johnsons London living wage of £8.30 an hour.

RAIL UNION RMT today demanded an urgent Network Rail investigation into claims passed to the union by staff that the company at the heart of the St Pancras/Eurostar cleaners poverty pay dispute, Initial, is allegedly planning to utilise an “in house” agency to break the strike which is using Bulgarian and Romanian workers registered as self-employed with limited company status to avoid basic UK employment rights and to get round the agency worker regulations.

RAIL UNION RMT today announced the end a pay dispute involving OCS cleaners working on the Eurostar contract after a new deal secured the union’s interim objective of getting all staff onto a minimum rate of £8 per hour by the autumn of this year.

A series of incremental increases under the package will say the minimum rate of pay rise from £7.40 an hour to £8.00 per hour by November - an increase of around 8% on the basic.

STRIKES BY some 150 cleaners on three contracts across the Channel tunnel network have come a step closer after RMT members voted by overwhelming margins for industrial action in a bid to raise appallingly low pay levels.

The union has demanded fresh talks with subcontracting employers OCS and Initial after workers on the OCS Eurostar contract and Initial’s Eurostar and the Network Rail Channel tunnel rail link contracts endorsed action with only two votes cast against.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said:

The RMT has launched a website for vulnerable workers.

Vulnerable workers are, according to the Trades Union Congress, people working in an environment where the risk of being denied employment rights is high, and who do not have the capacity or means to protect themselves from abuse.

In 2010 RMT conducted a survey through its magazine, RMT News, to identify where there were vulnerable workers in the transport sector and the problems they face.

The RMT have released a video explaining the recent conference to investigate and defend the needs of vulnerable workers.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said before the conference for vulnerable workers "All of us in the union are familiar with the precarious nature of employment at the present time and the many reasons that engender a real sense of vulnerability amongst workers generally across the UK. It is also fair to say that some workers in the industries that we seek to organise are especially vulnerable and need particular support and assistance from a Trade Union like the RMT and it is important that all our officials and members understand the issues vulnerable workers"

The RMT Vulnerable Workers project has produced this short film to raise awareness of the issues faced by vulnerable workers. For more information visit www.rmt-vulnerable-workers.org.uk.