TUBE UNION RMT has today written to London Mayor Boris Johnson after it emerged that tube cleaning contractors Initial are planning to sack staff in order to fund the costs of paying their workers the London Living Wage.
In their “Business Case” document, Initial say that as a cost saving measure brought on by “the recent increase in London Living Wage from £7.85 to £8.30” Initial are proposing to axe cleaners jobs to bridge the gap.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:
Initial generates tens of millions of pounds in profits off the back of cleaners like those on the London Underground contract and it is outrageous that rather than just funding the London Living Wage out of those profits they are planning to sack staff to cover the cost.
Basically the company is holding a gun to the workers heads by telling them that one cleaners living wage is another cleaners job.
This scandalous plan rides roughshod over the whole principle of a London Living Wage and we are calling on Mayor Boris Johnson as Chair of Transport for London to pull in Initial and tell them to put a stop to this blatant attack on the people who do a hard and dirty job, often in appalling conditions, keeping our tube system clean.
