CLEAN BREAKS & DIGNITY IN UNIFORM

Our ref: HSR

Head Office Circular NP/147/25

2^nd September 2025

To: The Secretary

All branches and Regional Councils

 

Dear Colleague

 

CLEAN BREAKS & DIGNITY IN UNIFORM

 

Your 2025 Annual General Meeting adopted the following resolution:

 

This Conference notes that train and station cleaners are required to clean toilets and public areas, often exposing themselves to human waste and hazardous materials, many are then expected to eat meals while still wearing the same contaminated uniforms, with no access to changing rooms or clean replacements. This poses a serious health risk through cross-contamination.

 

Most outsourced cleaners receive no company sick pay – only statutory sick pay, which forces many to work whilst ill. This dangerous cycle puts both works and the public at risk.

 

This Conference believes that no cleaner should face illness, poor hygiene, or financial hardship simply for doing their job. The lack of facilities, fair pay and dignity must end.

 

This conference resolves to call on the RMT to demand: 

• Changing facilities and clean uniform provision.
• Full company sick pay for all cleaners.
• Paid time for uniform changes.
• Incorporate “clean breaks-Dignity in uniform” into the “Better Jobs, Better Services” Campaign.
• A Digital & Paper survey of cleaning members contracts to expose gaps in welfare, hygiene and sick pay standards.

 

This Conference further calls on the NEC to instruct the General Secretary to write to the Office of Rail and Road, (ORR) and health and safety executive (HSE) requesting a full investigation into the conditions of all outsourced cleaning staff.

 

                                                            

At its meeting on 19^th August 2025 your NEC noted and adopted the following report from its health and safety sub-committee:

 

We are appalled to note that our cleaner grade members are subject to degrading circumstances and possible health risks when taking their breaks while wearing contaminated clothing. 

 

We also note that much of that referenced in the resolution is within existing RMT materials: 

 

RMT Cleaners Charter https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-publications/rmt-national-cleaners-charter/ explains that employers have a legal duty to provide adequate facilities for employees, mess rooms must be kept clean and hygienic for workers; and that there should be regular provision of uniform and full PPE. 

 

RMT Cleaners’ Health and Safety Advice document https://www.rmt.org.uk/about/health-and-safety/cleaners-health-and-safety-advicepoints to the PPE regs and the legal right to protection from hazards such as dust chemicals, or blood and explains that PPE should include equipment such as gloves, overalls shoes and masks.  On mess rooms the RMT h&s advice for cleaners explains that “suitable and sufficient” facilities shall be provided at work for people at work to eat meals.  And that good hygiene standards should be maintained in these parts of rest facilities used for eating or preparing food. 

 

RMT policy research document: “Why a clean railway must mean an end to outsourcing”,

https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/publications/rmt-report-why-a-clean-railway-must-mean-an-end-to-outsourcing/ shows that railway outsourcing companies have big incentives to cut the number of people working on their contracts or to drive down their pay and conditions, that outsourcing companies typically cut labour costs by reducing the number of cleaners and not paying them proper sick pay, meaning that fewer cleaners have to work more quickly and cut corners, while cleaners come into work while sick.

 

We instruct the General Secretary to:

• ensure that the aims of the resolution are reflected in the RMT Cleaners Charter, the RMT Cleaners Health and Safety advice and in RMT campaign ‘Better Jobs, Better Services’ Campaign’
• to survey RMT cleaner grade members in regard to their mess room and PPE provisions. For the results to be placed back before this NEC and to be used to make representations to ORR and other relevant organisation regarding the detail which  emerges from the responses to the survey. 

 

Branches and Regional Councils to be informed accordingly. 

 

Please bring this circular to the attention of relevant members.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Eddie Dempsey

General Secretary