Parliament cleaners on second strike
Parliament’s cleaners are holding a second strike today in a dispute with the parliamentary authorities over pay.
The 140 cleaners first held a 24-hour strike in mid-July, and say they have been forced to do so again because the Serjeant at Arms – head of non-political staff at Westminster – refuses to meet to discuss their demands.
They want a rise in pay from £5.20 an hour to £6.70, along with provision for both sick pay and pension entitlements of which there is currently neither.
Transport and General Worker’s Union (T&G) deputy general secretary Jack Dromey, who is supporting the strike, said something had to be done to “end the poor pay of cleaners”.
He added: “We have been overwhelmed with support by MPs and Lords but the stubborn refusal of the parliamentary authorities to act has led our members to decide they have no alternative but to mount picket lines outside parliament once more.”
