CLEANERS IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR

That this House pays tribute to cleaners in the transport industry who work unsocial hours in difficult conditions and play a vital role in delivering a safer, more comfortable environment for passengers; is dismayed that, despite receiving billions of pounds in taxpayer subsidy, railway and other transport companies are paying less than the living wage and enforcing inferior basic conditions in areas such as pensions, sick pay and holidays; is concerned that the exploitation of cleaners has been driven by the outsourcing of cleaning contracts in a drive for profits that not only undermine cleaners' working conditions but also the quality of service provided for passengers; notes that cleaners at a number of companies have as a last resort been forced to take strike action to secure justice; further notes this action has been at ISS on London Midland, ISS on East Coast Mainline, Carlisle Cleaning on Transpennine Express, Churchill Cleaning Contract on Tyne & Wear Metro, Carlisle Cleaning and Security on Docklands Light Railway and ISS and Initial on London Underground; calls on these companies to enter into meaningful negotiations to resolve these disputes; welcomes the Cleaners' Charter produced by the RMT Union and supports the key Union demand that conditions of cleaners and services to passengers can be improved by bringing contracts in-house and paying a living wage; and calls on the Department for Transport, Transport for London and local transport authorities to agree to this sensible and just proposal.