Foreign Office cleaners: what do we know about low pay in Whitehall?
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Version 0 of 1. Foreign secretary Philip Hammond has been asked to intervene after 14 cleaners working for outsourcing giant Interserve were told they could face disciplinary measures for raising the issue of their low wages. But how much do we know about cleaners and other staff, employed – directly or otherwise – by central government and about low pay across Whitehall? Why are the Foreign Office cleaners in the news? The controversy arose after 14 cleaners working at the Foreign Office, but employed by Interserve, signed a letter to Hammond congratulating him on his job in the new Conservative government and seeking to discuss their pay on 21 July. Six weeks later, the 14 were served with a letter by Interserve, saying they were under investigation for “bringing the contract into disrepute”. Their letter to Hammond was enclosed as evidence. Supported by Citizens UK and the Independent Workers Union, some of the staff protested outside the Foreign Office. Is the Foreign Office the worst department on low pay? According to this year’s Whitehall living wage league table, published by Citizens UK in July, the Foreign Office is not the worst offender when it comes to low wages. That dubious honour goes to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and HM Revenue & Customs, both of which pay their staff, including sub-contracted workers like cleaners and security staff, £6.50 an hour. The transport and justice departments pay slightly more: £6.85 and £6.67, respectively. Cleaners at the Foreign Office are paid just over the minimum wage, at £7.05 an hour, which will rise to the government’s “national living wage” of £7.20 an hour for over-25s from April. The cleaners were asking to discuss the London weighting of the living wage as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, based on the cost of living in the capital, which is £9.15 an hour. Which is the best department? According to Citizens UK’s table, five central government bodies pay their staff the London living wage of £9.15 an hour: the Department of Energy and Climate Change; HM Treasury; the Supreme Court; the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Citizens UK says Decc is an accredited living wage employer, ensuring all its staff are paid at a rate that is calculated to ensure they earn enough to live on. Have other ministers been more welcoming than Hammond to the living wage message? Last July ministers from five departments – education, transport, foreign office, Defra, and HMRC – received letters signed by more than 100 cleaners across Whitehall asking for a meeting to discuss the department becoming a living wage employer accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. Ed Davey, then secretary of state at Decc, met cleaners face to face in 2014, having received a letter on his desk from the cleaners who worked in his office. Iain Duncan Smith, secretary of state for work and pensions, did the same in 2012 and then ensured the living wage for cleaners in every job centre in London. Why are cleaners feeling the brunt of this? Related: Office cleaners face underpayment, mistreatment and abuse, report finds A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission last year exposed the frequent mistreatment of commercial cleaning staff, usually women and migrant workers, including employers ignoring obligations to provide holiday and sick pay. The report also noted that cleaners often felt unable to report problems for fear of losing their jobs, and cited examples of workers sacked for complaining about not being paid in full and on time. Many cleaners said they felt that both their employers and staff at the client firms did not treat them with appropriate dignity and respect. They spoke of being “invisible” and “the lowest of the low”, and of being spoken to rudely. On Tuesday, the EHRC will launch a campaign to promote good working conditions in the cleaning industry. Sign up here for your free weekly Guardian Public Leaders newsletter with news and analysis sent direct to you every Thursday. Follow us on Twitter via@Guardianpublic |