“Cleaners in Parliament facing mass redundancies despite Labour pledge to ‘serve working people’”

Cleaners in the Houses of Parliament are facing cuts of up to 25 per cent of the workforce and are complaining of uncertain and chaotic conditions, despite Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to “serve working people”.

In May 2024, the Churchill Group was awarded the contract to clean the Houses of Parliament. But since then, Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union (CAIWU) claim they have faced “chaos and uncertainty”…

[CAIWU] said its workers are facing “increased workloads, leading to physical and mental health issues, while the private sector reaps the rewards”, adding that the outsourcing process has created a “two-tier workforce where those unlucky enough to be outsourced lack the same rights and allowances as their peers.”…

CAIWU claimed that its members were not informed or consulted about the decision to outsource to the Churchill Group…

A spokesperson said: “These contracts were complex and many cleaners found them difficult to understand given English was not their first language. Nonetheless, they signed the new contracts for fear of their own job security.”…

The Churchill Group has been contacted for comment.