
9 October 2019
RMT Press Offie:
RAIL UNION RMT is piling the pressure onto outsourcing company Mitie and publicly owned Network Rail, ahead of talks scheduled for Wednesday 16th October, urging them to end poverty pay among their cleaning staff and commit to paying them at least the Real Living Wage.
The cleaners are employed by outsourcing giant Mitie Group to maintain Network Rail’s stations at Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central, Birmingham New Street, Leeds, Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly. Mitie Group plc paid its shareholders more than £170 million in dividends in the last six years and CEO Phil Bentley was paid £2.2 million last year, 175 times the average wage of a Mitie employee.
Network Rail, who contracted Mitie Group, say they want to be ‘one of Britain’s best employers’, yet they are prepared to let Mitie employ their workers on the lowest possible legal wage. More than 50% of Mitie cleaners surveyed said they struggled to get by on their pay.
RMT has been fighting to win the cleaners a pay rise to bring them at least in line with the Real Living Wage and the campaign has won huge public and political support.
82,000 people signed a 38 Degrees petition calling for the cleaners to get a pay rise while hundreds of members of the public have written to the Mitie’s CEO. Motions supporting the campaign have been tabled in both the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments and MPs have contacted both Mitie and Network Rail directly urging them to sort out their cleaners’ pay.
Pay the Living Wage to Mitie Cleaners NOW
Make sure the Mitie Group ensures that the people who clean stations for Network Rail - who do some of the dirtiest work in the rail industry - are paid the Real Living Wage. No More Delays - Pay the living wage to Mitie cleaners NOW.
Now, ahead of talks next Wednesday, RMT cleaners are taking to the station concourses again to leaflet the public.
Leafleting will take place at:
· BIRMINGHAM New Street Station - Near the Tram Stop - Wednesday 9th October 2019 between 16.30 and 18.00
· LIVERPOOL Lime Street Station - main entrance - Thursday 10th October 2019 between 16.30 and 18.00
· MANCHESTER Piccadilly Station - Station Approach - Friday 11th October 2019 between 16.30 and 18.00
· GLASGOW Central Station - main entrance - Monday 14th October 2019 between 16.30 and 18.00
· EDINBURGH Waverley Station - Fleshmarket Entrance - Tuesday 15th October 2019 between 16.30 and 18.00
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“Our members are angry and they have the huge weight of public opinion on their side.
“Network Rail and Mitie need to stop throwing their hands up and pointing at each other and sort this out on the 16th or this campaign is only going to get bigger.”
Ends.
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Tagged with: Mitie, network rail, cleaners, real living wage,
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