BRING TUBE CLEANING BACK IN-HOUSE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: nov/dec 2025 :: RMTnews 4 RMT is demanding the suspension of the procurement process for Transport for London (TfL) cleaning contracts. The call comes after the union obtained legal advice from Michael Ford KC, which has raised serious concerns about the advice given to the mayor by senior TfL executives. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey wrote to the London mayor and the Transport for London Board: “I am concerned that the mayor may have been misled as to his options in relation to the future of the pan TfL cleaning contract.” RMT had been in formal discussions with TfL over a possible insourcing of the cleaning contract, following the mayor’s instruction in October 2024. However, the process was delayed by TfL and only began four months later. Only two meetings were held before RMT was told in August that the review would not continue. “A further meeting was expected to be held but in August, we were informed by the mayor that TfL had told him it was now too late to stop the re-tendering process and that no further contract extension could take place, which might have allowed more time for a genuinely objective options appraisal process,” said Mr Dempsey. The union sought legal advice which suggested that this guidance was not accurate and that the mayor was acting under a misunderstanding of the options available to him.  “Our advice is that the contract could be renewed a third time by the same methods as could have been used in the past.” The union also challenges TfL claims that the cancellation of the procurement process was no longer possible.  The legal advice indicates that this was not the case and that a contracting authority enjoyed a very broad discretion when it came to decisions to abandon contract award procedures and provide the service in-house.  The union is calling for no new contract to be signed and to allow for a genuine review of the options open to the Mayor of London. “This is a major TfL service, employing upwards of 2,000 staff and if it is tendered out it will be a contract worth £700 million over five years. “These are workers who put their lives on the line during the pandemic and worked every day to make the Underground safe for key workers to travel on.  “Their current treatment under ABM is a continuing stain on the reputation of TfL and the Greater London Authority. “The cleaners are denied a decent pension in retirement and left to depend on pension credit, denied sick pay and overworked to make up for de-staffing to subsidise ABM’s profits. ABM paid out a £30 million dividend last year to their US owners,” wrote Mr Dempsey. The union has also highlighted the record of both bidders on the contract. While ABM paid £30 million to shareholders, rival bidder Mitie plc recently paid out £54.5 million in dividends – its largest payout in over 12 years – while also spending £104 million on share buybacks to inflate shareholder returns. In September, the TUC called on the mayor to convene a summit to improve industrial relations, end outsourcing, and retain ticket offices on the Elizabeth Line. BRING TUBE CLEANING BACK IN-HOUSE B E T T E R J O B S B E T T E R S E R V I C E S E N D R A I L O U T S O U R C I N G