National Campaign For Justice For Cleaners In The Transport Industry

We note that RMT currently has at least eight ongoing disputes with cleaning employers with ‘live’ ballot mandates, with issues heading towards disputes in other companies as well. We aim to hold co-ordinated strike action to pursue these disputes, perhaps a 48-hour strike in October or November.

We instruct the General Secretary to obtain as a matter of urgency reports from all relevant lead officers as to the feasibility of this in the disputes with companies for which they have responsibility, and to place responses in front of us as they are received, and in any case within 21 days.

We further instruct the General Secretary to initiate a national organising campaign among cleaners as follows:

1. to review and update our Cleaners' Charter, placing a revised draft in front of us within 28 days.

2. to conduct a mapping exercise to provide information on where cleaners work in the transport industry, to include for each company/area:

• whether the work is contracted-out or in-house
• if contracted-out, when the contract expires
• whether RMT has recognition
• whether the Council of Executives has agreed a reduced-rate contribution
• rates of pay, and the pay anniversary date
• a summary of working conditions

3. to place this item on the agenda of the Executive and Officers’ meeting on 15/16 October to seek feedback and ideas.

4. to draft a syllabus for a training course for cleaner reps; to reserve a week at the Doncaster National Education Centre in 2013 to run this course; and to make this course available to regions.

Read about London Transport Cleaners fight for a London Living Wage here.

Regional Councils, branches and cleaners' representatives to be advised.