Video and Press Release: RMT cleaners at Eurostar strike over pay, jobs and bullying

RAIL UNION RMT today launched a global campaign in support of Eurostar cleaners who are locked in a bitter dispute with their employers - the Carlisle Group - over pay, threatened redundancies, the introduction of finger printing machines and the victimisation of a union representative.

At the end of last week the Eurostar cleaners took part in a rock-solid 48 hour strike with a noisy picket line taking their message of respect and justice out to the travelling public.

Today, RMT have linked up with international website Labour Start to launch a global email campaign targeted at Eurostar and calling on the company to intervene in the dispute and demand that their cleaning contractors pay their staff the London Living Wage, scrap the Orwellian finger printing machines and start treating the cleaners with the respect that they deserve.

The global Eurostar cleaners campaign can be reached at - http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c...

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said:

“Eurostar is a global brand and it makes perfect sense for us to launch a global trade union campaign in support of our members here in London fighting for justice.

“Eurostar cannot ignore the actions of their cleaning contractors, the Carlisle Group, which have forced our members into a campaign of industrial action. The cleaners voted 100% to strike which is a measure of how angry they are.

“RMT is determined to use every means at our disposal to win the fight for justice and respect for the Eurostar cleaners including a global cyber-picket to shine a spotlight on the appalling way that this group of workers is being treated.”

> RMT National News

Wednesday, 10th September
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey has called on Mayor Sadiq Khan to attend a summit with the union to find a resolution urgently to the escalating London Underground dispute.
Friday, 5th September
RMT today blasted plans by the Elizabeth Line to close every ticket office by August 2027, calling the move “a betrayal of station staff and passengers” with a vow of sustained industrial action to stop it.
Thursday, 4th September
RMT has declared a formal dispute with outsourcing giant ABM after the company failed to improve on its derisory offer to cleaners working on the London Underground cleaning contract.
Wednesday, 3rd September
Maritime union, RMT has marked Merchant Navy Day by demanding urgent action from industry and government to secure jobs, training and fair conditions for UK seafarers.
Tuesday, 2nd September
Rail union, RMT today welcomed the London Assembly Transport Committee’s letter to Transport for London on fare evasion and staff safety, and backed calls for urgent action to tackle the rising levels of violence against frontline transport workers.