Cleaners

Issues for Tube cleaners, and unionisation efforts

Cleaning, catering, security, track protection: in house now!

Cleaners, catering and security staff, track protection workers, and others are employed by private companies rather than by LUL or TfL directly. Contracting out work to private companies is known as “outsourcing”. Invariably, outsourced workers have worse terms and conditions, and less secure work...

New edition of Tubeworker bulletin now online!

The latest edition of our bulletin, collating content from our blog, is now online. Click here to download the PDF.

This edition reviews the recent developments in the LUL pay dispute, and discusses the implications for union organisation on the job. Plus, an update on the ABM cleaners' ballot, and...

New edition of Tubeworker bulletin now online!

The final edition of Tubeworker bulletin of 2023 is now online.

Click here to read the bulletin.

This edition looks forwards to strike over LUL pay in January, and encourages all readers to support ABM cleaners' industrial action ballot.

Why directly-employed staff must help the cleaners' fight

Everyone on LU, directly-employed or outsourced, is part of a collective. We all contribute our labour to ensure the system can run. If any group of workers face unsafe or exploitative conditions, that’s a problem for all of us.

Station staff, drivers, train maintainers, engineers and office...

Inequality Street

Being a cleaner is one of the most difficult and frequently unpleasant jobs on the Tube, as well as one of the lowest paid.

So it’s always nice to get some reward and recognition, especially at this time of year. So you can imagine the joy felt by ABM staff across the combine upon discovering the delivery of small cellophane bags containing seven — yes, seven — Quality Street chocolates in various mess rooms.

Get ready to ballot on ABM

RMT cleaner reps are working hard to prepare for an upcoming industrial action ballot.

Cleaning contractor ABM has displaced dozens of cleaners via its "Project Lean" restructure, and is yet to respond to an RMT pay claim demanding a pay rise and company sick pay. Meanwhile, the value of cleaners'...

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