Labour MP Kim Johnson has called for Merseyrail's cleaners to be brought back in-house, saying they "shouldn't be left behind" as the network returns to public ownership.
Her early day motion, tabled on 21 October, notes that cleaning on Merseyrail is outsourced to Churchill Contract Services, whose cleaners are in dispute with the company after it refused to keep pay rates that sustain a 20p differential over the Living Wage. The motion also points out that Churchill has paid out £57 million in dividends over the past two years.
Kim Johnson: 'Time to bring Merseyrail cleaners back in-house'
"If Merseyrail is coming back into public ownership, its cleaners shouldn't be left behind," Kim Johnson said. "Labour committed to the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation. Now it's time to bring Merseyrail cleaners back in-house."
The motion commends Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram for his decision to bring Merseyrail services into public ownership in 2028 and welcomes his support for insourcing the cleaners, arguing that a single integrated Merseyrail workforce would be "better for passengers, taxpayers and workers alike".
Call for talks with the RMT
It calls on Merseyrail to direct its contractor to resolve the dispute by agreeing to the 20p differential, and to sit down with the RMT to agree a timetable for insourcing the cleaners "at the earliest opportunity". It also backs the government's promise of the biggest wave of insourcing for a generation, declaring that "the age of outsourcing is over".
Labour MPs John McDonnell, Ian Lavery, Apsana Begum, Grahame Morris, Kate Osborne, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Charlotte Nichols, Cat Eccles and Cat Smith are among the 16 MPs to have signed the motion so far.
