SUPPORT FOR LIVING WAGE AT MERSEYRAIL

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2020 :: RMTnews 6 RMT 2020 GRADES AND EQUALITY INDUSTRIAL ORGANISING CONFERENCES Signalling and Operations Grades conference February 22/23 - Folkestone Health and safety conference February 26 - Doncaster Young Members’ Conference February 28/29 - Glasgow Women’s conference March 7/8 - Barrow-in-Furness Supervisory and associated grades conference March 7/8 - Southampton Station Staff and associated grades conference March 20/21 - Durham Black and ethnic minority members conference March 24/ 25- Liverpool Hotel and catering grades conference March 28 - Blackpool Engineering grades conference April 16/17 - Edinburgh Train Crew and shunting grades conference April 16/17 - Bournemouth Disabled Workers Conference April 17/18 - Manchester Freight and logistics conference April 18 - Middlesbrough Bus workers conference April 24/25 - Southampton Transport cleaning workers conference May 2 - Blackpool Maritime conference May 13/15 - Hull RMT LGBT conference May 21/22 - Birmingham Offshore conference May 19/20 - Aberdeen Branch and regional council secretaries conference June 7 -Aberdeen Annual General Meeting June 21/26 - Southend L iverpool City Councillors backed a motion calling for an end to low pay at Merseyrail and pay cleaners the living wage last month in a major breakthrough in the union’s long-running campaign. Merseyrail has contracted out its station cleaning work to the outsourcing giant Mitie, who pay their cleaning staff at below the level of the Real Living Wage. RMT has been fighting to end this scandal as part of its ‘Justice for Cleaners’ campaign and has already received the support of Liverpool’s Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram. As a result, Liverpool City Councillors Elizabeth Hayden and Angela Coleman won support for their motion calling on Merseyrail to bring the cleaners’ pay up to the Real Living Wage and bring them back in house at the end of the contract. Merseyrail, which holds a 25-year concession from Merseytravel, made a profit of £14.3 million last year and has paid out more than £111 million in dividends to Serco and Abellio since 2010. Mitie Group plc made an operating profit of £88 million in 2019 and has paid out more than £177 million in dividends since 2014. The union will continue to lobby politicians for decent pay for cleaners. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that it was time to call an end to the disgrace of low pay on the railways. “It’s no wonder that companies who are siphoning off millions from our railways, while paying poverty wages, have run out of public sympathy. “Merseyrail and Mitie need to do the right thing and bring an immediate to poverty pay on their watch,” he said. SUPPORT FOR LIVING WAGE AT MERSEYRAIL