Cleaning companies continue to target union members over their national insurance numbers. One rep was sacked last week after being employed for seven years. Others are being demanded for proof of their national insurance numbers and stand to lose their jobs. The issue of immigration controls will hamper attempts to organise cleaners around industrial demands until we tackle it head-on.
Some in the RMT are talking about a campaign for an ‘amnesty’. This would be welcome. It would eliminate overnight the tool the bosses are currently using against cleaners when they organise.
But we must be aware of the problems with some ‘amnesty’ campaigns. Beware of what happened in Spain, where the amnesty was used as a one-off clear-out of the system, so the government knew who was legal, and then tightened restrictions on anyone entering the country after that. Amnesties set criteria for who has the right to stay and who does not. The high profile ‘Strangers into Citizens’ campaign wants an amnesty for people who have been here four years or more, and gives employers the veto on extending the right to stay. This would exclude RMT members who have started work here recently and provide bosses with another tool to keep workers silent. The RMT should not support this particular campaign.
The best campaign would be for ‘papers for everyone in our industry’, not just as a one-off, but an ongoing demand, setting no selective criteria about which members deserve amnesty. Commitment to fighting for everyone’s rights will unite us, so we are strong enough to fight off the vicious cleaning bosses.
Kick ISS off the railway?
ISS has been victimising RMT reps at the rate of one a week. The union needs to hit back. Through inspecting and exposing ISS when it breaches health and safety regulations, RMT H and S reps have been asked to compile evidence that this company is not fit for purpose. The aim is to get them kicked off the railway. The RMT has a long-standing commitment to bringing all cleaning back in house – maybe this would be a good place to start? We would not want to risk cleaners' jobs if ISS lost the contract and need to make sure the membership is strong enough to resist this, as well as fighting for an immigration papers, which will make the cleaners stronger.
