NEWS DESK

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has reiterated his pledge to ensure that contract cleaners for London Underground receive the London living wage.

Speaking at Mayor’s Question Time today (16 July) the Mayor confirmed that the London Living Wage will be included in Metronet cleaning contracts when they come up for renewal.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “I think it is very sad that the wealth gap has grown and the cost of living for people on lower incomes is very acute at the moment. That is why I am determined to ensure we set an example with the GLA and the functional bodies in that we ensure our people are paid the London Living Wage. The gap between rich and poor has grown in London. Our job is to reverse that process.”

While the Mayor is keen for the Living Wage to be introduced as soon as possible, the best opportunity to achieve this is when Metronet's contracts are renewed. Metronet is now under the control of Transport for London. Three out of four of the Metronet contracts will be renegotiated in August. The final contract will be renegotiated before the end of the year.

As Tube Lines are not under Transport for London's control a decision to pay their cleaners the Living Wage would have to be made by Tube Lines themselves.