Wimbledon cleaning staff claim scavenging for food

Cleaning staff at Wimbledon claim they were forced to take food from bins because they were given insufficient money by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) to buy lunch and dinner while working.

The staff said they also had to crouch in corridors during their breaks, due to a lack of official break areas and insufficient time for breaks during the tournament, which finished on Sunday.

Some housekeepers, who are employed by LSS, a subsidiary of Compass, claim that AELTC provides insufficient money on their accreditation for food during their daily shifts, which regularly last 15 hours.

Compass employs about 1,800 people at Wimbledon. It operates in 50 countries and also supplies catering services to venues as diverse as oil rigs and school canteens. Last week, the Guardian revealed how Wimbledon catering workers are paid the day rate for working night shifts, and earn well below the London living wage.

A housekeeper, who has worked at Wimbledon for three years, said: “In the last article about FMC, a subsidiary of Compass, the AELTC statement suggested that they meet with companies to discuss pay. The indication we’ve got seems to be the opposite. The AELTC themselves decide certain aspects such as who gets how much money on their accreditation to buy food.

“Cleaning staff who regularly work 15 hours a day receive £11.50 [an hour] and get a one-hour break a day. This is utterly insufficient and insulting especially while many stuff working shorter hours and much less taxing jobs are receiving up to £30 [an hour].”

An AELTC spokesperson said: “The AELTC values all of the staff who help to deliver the Championships and meets annually with each of our major contractors to take their advice and agree on appropriate rates, shift rotations and rest days.”