The_Guardian_-_2016-12-29

theguardian.com, 21 December). The work done by Servest teams to make sure our trains are clean,
presentable and comfortable is very important to us and our customers, and is just as important that
their staff are properly rewarded for the work they do.
The relationship between Servest and its employees should rightly be between them but GWR is not
an uninterested party here, and we have built a number of key protections into our contracts with
suppliers to make sure their staff are treated fairly and with respect. For example, staff of contractors
cleaning GWR trains (and any agency staff working on their behalf) must receive the living wage – or
the London living wage where appropriate – as a minimum standard. In addition, they receive at least
28 days’ paid leave a year, zero-hours contracts are banned, and we give each of them five days’ free
travel on our trains a year.
We have been very clear that Servest and the RMT need to work together to resolve the current
dispute, and we will be meeting with the Servest management team in the new year to discuss how we
can support any discussions they have had with their employee representatives.
We are determined that this action does not impact on our customers’ experience and we have worked
closely with Servest to put alternative arrangements in place should the strike action go ahead.
Andrew Mellors
Deputy managing director, Great Western Railway
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This article was downloaded by calibre from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/28/problems-withbritains-trains
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