Atalian Servest
Alstom West Coast Newsletter
September 2022
EVERYBODY OUT ON FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER
Enough Is Enough - End Poverty Pay
It’s been some time since there was a strike by Atalian Servest Cleaners on the Alstom West Coast Coast Contract – Cleaning Avanti Trains – but RMT has called another day of strike action on 23 September 2022.
However, we are happy to call it off! The union is scheduled to meet with Atalian Servest bosses in Birmingham in 23rd September 2022 and if, at that meeting, they propose a reasonable, better, fairer deal on pay and company sick pay then RMT can call off any action even at the last minute – but it would have to be BETTER and FAIRER! We shouldn’t forget that this isn’t about pay for 2022/23 – this current pay dispute goes back to 2021! With inflation rocketing and a cost of living crisis affecting millions of people the time has come to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - We Deserve Better and WE DEMAND BETTER. Atalian Servest cleaners worked all through the Covid pandemic. Politicians and bosses described you as heroes when you went to work when much of the country was locked down – YOU played a crucial role in keeping the Transport Network going and making sure everything was clean and hygienic… but you are now being treated with contempt by the bosses – you’ve gone from being heralded as heroes to being offered little more than zeroes! With energy, food, heating, fuel and housing costs spiralling out of control we cannot afford not to strike for a better, fairer deal. It is our only weapon when faced with an employer who won’t move. The 23rd September is also an important date because the day before (22nd September 2022) – we are planning to meet Atalian Servest bosses with your staff reps from across the company – the Real Living Wage Foundation is expected to bring forward its announcement of what the new hourly rate for the Real Living Wage should be. RMT believes that level of wage is the VERY least that should be paid immediately to ALL STAFF – but we don’t think a minimum subsistence wage is enough – we want more – and Atalian Servest, Alstom and Avanti Trains can afford to offer us MORE. Firstly, let’s be clear – the structure of the railways means that someone took a decision to contract cleaning staff out in the first place – whilst you work hard cleaning Avanti Trains (a multi million pound operation) – the actual client for the contract is Alstom (another multi million pound operation) and you actually work for the contracting outfit Atalian Servest – another mega bucks, profit generating business.
When we ask Avanti or Alstom to intervene and get Atalian Servest to pay more – and to provide company sick pay the clients wash their hands if responsibility and say the cleaners are not directly employed by them – it’s a factual detail but it’s also a total Con – these companies can take staff in house if they wish - they prefer not to. They organise a contracting out system that allows you to be left on poverty, piss poor pay and conditions – whilst they accumulate profits and claim to have clean hands – contracting out is a filthy business and they are up to their necks in it. Equally, Avanti could easily offer some free leisure travel passes for cleaners (who work so hard keeping their trains clean) and their families – but they choose not to. If you were directly employed by Avanti you would have free travel on their services, discounted travel on other operators and a proper sick pay scheme – you would have also had the benefit of collective bargaining within that company building a wage and terms and conditions you’d also have a proper company pension scheme (even though the bosses and government are trying to attack that now!) Contracting out is the scourge of working people – it exploits. RMT is campaigning to bring cleaners IN HOUSE so they are directly employed – properly valued and properly paid with better terms and conditions. However, we are not there yet – Atalian Servest is the employer – and they need to offer a better deal to staff NOW. Alstom and Avanti need to ensure they do this or suffer further industrial action on their cleaning contractor. Atalian Servest have the chance to sit down with us on the 22nd September – or before – and settle this dispute. Nobody wants to take strike action – but with a cost of living crisis spiralling out of control what choice do workers have – our wages haven’t caused inflation – that’s an impossible suggestion – and we have to try and catch up to a level where we can at least cope with the massive rises in the cost of living. On sick pay it’s scandalous that we don’t have a proper company sick pay provision – during the pandemic staff with covid symptoms – even before lateral flow tests – had to make a decision between coming to work and potentially spreading infections or trying to survive on paltry statutory sick pay – this issue also needs to be addressed now.
FIGHT FOR FAIR PAY – PROPER SICK PAY – DECENCY & RESPECT
NEW CAMPAIGN MATERIALS
RMT is preparing new banners, placards etc for any forthcoming strikes to help get our message across (obviously this takes time but we are getting on with the job) – and we are trying to get new leaflets produced as well to explain our situation, our position and argue clearly for improved pay, terms and conditions.
BUILDING A CO-ORDINATED RESPONSE
RMT is looking at whether future industrial action on Atalian Servest contracts can be co-ordinated if those contracts also have disputes – gathering our collective strength seems a sensible strategy if we are faced with disputes across different contracts. We can also look at co-ordinating action with other our members in dispute on other cleaning contracts – however, any action has to be effective and some
contracts differ in terms of which days are the most effective to take action on. We will continue to look at all options when looking at what is the best way to engage in disputes in order to get settlements to them.
SWAPPING REST DAYS
It was recently suggested that Atalian Servest would restrict staff from swapping rest days – We couldn’t understand the reasoning for this position so RMT raised it with the company and we understand this is NOT the case… In a response to the RMT enquiry on this issue the company responded: “As far as I am concerned there should be no issue and certainly no instruction from the team. As long as there is a suitable swap there is no issue, please ask the individual to speak with their line manager.” n
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