BRING SOUTHEASTERN CLEANERS IN-HOUSE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may/june 2026 :: RMTnews 4 A rally in Ashford, Kent called for an end to outsourcing on Southeastern services, demanding that cleaners employed by private contractor Churchill be brought back in-house under public ownership. Southeastern has been taken into public control and will be integrated into Great British Railways, but cleaning staff remain outsourced, on inferior pay and conditions and little to no job security. RMT has highlighted that Churchill had paid out more than £50 million to shareholders in the last two years, arguing that profits were being prioritised over the interests of frontline staff and the travelling public. The union has pointed out that the Labour government had promised the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation but that it had so far not followed through on that commitment. Activists leafleted Ashford International station prior to pay talks with the company led by RMT regional organiser John Parsons. He told the company that there was no justification for keeping cleaners outsourced to a private contractor when Southeastern was in public hands. “Churchill has paid out tens of millions to shareholders at the same time as suppressing cleaners pay, denying them sick pay and leaving them without a proper pension,” he said. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that cutting corners on staffing and conditions inevitably impacted on cleanliness and standards across the railway which negatively impacted on passengers. “We are calling on the government to end outsourcing on rail and bring these essential workers into Great British Railways where they belong,” he said. A fter a long battle, London Underground cleaners working for outsourced contractor Mitie have won the right to the sick pay scheme after the company took over the contract from April 1. As a result of the long- running RMT campaign, cleaners will now be entitled to four weeks’ full sick pay which would not have been achieved without union pressure. RMT has lobbied City Hall the Transport for London Board for several years with three key demands of travel passes for cleaners, sick pay and improved pensions. Before this victory the lack of a sick pay scheme meant that cleaners literally could not afford to be ill, facing a choice between using annual leave, struggling by on Statutory Sick Pay, or coming to work whilst unwell. This would worsen health conditions and put workmates and passengers at risk if the illness was contagious. During the pandemic, TfL recognised how dangerous this situation was, and subsidised a sick pay scheme but it was subsequently withdrawn. RMT general secretary TUBE CLEANERS WIN SICK PAY BRING SOUTHEASTERN CLEANERS IN-HOUSE Scan this QR code to join the campaign