BRING METRO CLEANERS IN-HOUSE!

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/aug 2025 :: RMTnews 4 A n RMT survey of Tyne and Wear Metro cleaners has laid bare the devastating impact of outsourcing, with most staff reporting poverty pay, lack of sick pay, and rising workloads under private contractor Churchill. The survey of Metro cleaners, employed by outsourcing firm Churchill, was conducted in July and found: • 70 per cent sometimes or regularly struggle to make ends meet • 67 per cent can’t afford to take time off if they’re sick • 85 per cent have worked while sick • 87 per cent worry about not having enough to live on in retirement • 90 per cent say workloads are rising • 90 per cent say Churchill does not employ enough staff to do the job properly • 87 per cent believe Metro services would improve if cleaning was brought back in-house RMT is calling on the Mayor of the North East Combined Authority Kim McGuinness to immediately end the outsourcing of Metro cleaning services and commit to insourcing the contract when Churchill’s deal ends in August next year. Churchill, which holds cleaning contracts across the rail network, paid out a £43.9 million dividend last year— much of it to a private equity fund. The company boasts 22 per cent gross profit margins, achieved in part bypassing public sector cost increases, such as wages and National Insurance, back to its clients like Nexus who run the Metro. Yet Metro cleaners are denied company sick pay, proper pensions, and have been offered no pay rise beyond the Living Wage.  RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the findings must be a wake-up call to employers and politicians. “Metro cleaners are being exploited by a private contractor that prioritises making huge profits over the interests of our people who keep transport clean in the region. “This union will not be ruling out calling strike action if bosses do not start to treat cleaners properly. “This is part of our national campaign to end outsourcing, and we are calling on the North East Mayor to insource these workers as soon as practically possible,” he said. Sixteen MPs have signed a parliamentary motion backing the campaign to end outsourcing on the Tyne and Wear Metro. Elsewhere in the industry, ScotRail and Northern have long since insourced their cleaning operations, while the Welsh government and Mayor of London are also moving away from outsourcing. RMT will continue to fight until Metro cleaners win justice, as part of the union’s national insourcing campaign. BRING METRO CLEANERS IN-HOUSE! Shocking survey reveals poverty and pressure faced by Tyne and Wear Metro cleaners