Protest pays off for cleaners at Barclays

Barclays today reacted to trade-union pressure and bumped up the pay of 1,000 cleaners and other ancillary staff to £7.50 an hour.
The bank was last month targeted by the Unite union and religious groups as the worst payer of cleaners in Canary Wharf.
The cleaners staged protests calling for a raise to the £7.20 an hour that Mayor Ken Livingstone said was the London minimum living wage.

Many of them work in the investment banking and fund management offices, where most staff earn well over £100,000 a year.

Until now, cleaners at the Canary Wharf headquarters have been paid £6.40 an hour while those at Barclays Wealth Management got £6.14.

Now 1,000 cleaning, mailroom, gym and catering staff in 370 locations across the capital will see their wages lifted to £7.50 an hour.

Barclays pointed out that this was £2.15 an hour above the Government's minimum wage and 30p better than Livingstone's 'living wage'.

Facilities management director Jon Couret said: 'Although these employees are not directly employed by Barclays, we have a responsibility to ensure they receive a fair, well-rounded remuneration package, and this deal delivers that.'

Barclays' contractors include Mitie, Lancaster, Initial, Mail Source and Bannatyne's. Goldman Sachs was last year targeted by cleaners shouting 'Goldman Sucks'.