School cleaners fight PFI bosses’ cuts plan

Balfron High workers ordered to find savings

Cleaners at Balfron High are stepping up their fight against plans to slash their hours of work.

GMB officials, acting on behalf of the 13 women at the PFI-built school, have raised a grievance against the move proposed by facilities provider Facilicom, which took over the cleaning contract last autumn.

In November staff, who work between 16 hours and 30 hours a week and earn the minimum wage of £7.50 an hour, were told to come up with ways of cutting cleaning time at the school by 89 hours a week or as many as five would face redundancy.

In a letter to Facilicom, outlining details of the grievance, GMB full-time officer Christina Lambie accused the company of bullying staff. She claimed they were: Proposing redundancies without offering proper clarity about why the redundancy situation had come about .

Not offering or proposing any suitable alternatives.

Proposing to cut unsocial hours payments.

Not offering Scottish Local Government Living Wage as per Scottish Government Guidance on Fair Work Practices 2015.

Facilicom management were due to hear the grievance at the school yesterday (Thursday).

Ms Lambie said: “We believe what the company is suggesting amounts to a fundamental breach of contract.

“The company is not offering the Scottish Government Living Wage even though Stirling Council, for whom they are working, is an accredited SGLW employer. The rationale seems to be that the school is too clean. It certainly will not stay that way if 89 hours or up to five cleaners are taken out.”

Balfron High was built 16 years ago under a PFI contract and cleaning work has been outsourced to private contractors.

Stirling Council officials said in November they expected cleaning standards at Balfron High to be maintained and would be concerned to hear of any fundamental revisions of cleaners’ contracts.

Labour group leader Danny Gibson said: “I have not been made aware of the grievance and I will now be in touch with trade union colleagues to discuss this concerning development in detail.”

Council leader Scott Farmer said: “I find it regrettable it has got to this stage and we will be making strong representations to the principal contractor.

“Unfortunately, legally we don’t have locus over this business contract and how the contractors are treating staff.

“If these proposed changes, which seem to be being steamrollered through, concern transfer of undertakings I would urge GMB to take legal action.”

Facilicom managing director Jan-hein Hemke said it would be inappropriate to comment at this time while they were still negotiating with staff.

If these proposed changes concern transfer of undertakings I would urge GMB to take legal action