25 March 2022
‘I can’t afford to use Avanti trains. The only time I get to go on them is when I clean them’: Striking Atalian Servest cleaners in their own words Introduction Cleaners employed by Atalian Servest to clean trains on the West Coast services are engaged in an industrial dispute with their employer over pay, sick pay and travel facilities. These cleaners are twice-outsourced. They are employed by Atalian Servest, a subsidiary of a French multinational, to clean trains in depots run by another French multinational, Alstom, on behalf of First-Trenitalia’s Avanti West Coast. In 2020, these three companies paid out dividends worth in excess of £32 million. Atalian has already paid out a further £5.8 million in the last year. Table 1: Dividend payments by West Coast companies 2020 and 20211 Atalian Servest Holdings Ltd Alstom Transport UK Ltd First-Trenitalia West Coast Ltd
2020 £10.8 million
2021 £5.8 million
£10.0 million £11.5 million
The cleaners employed by Atalian Servest worked through the pandemic when others could stay at home. They are paid £9.68 per hour and they don’t get occupational sick pay. They are fighting for a fair pay rise and for sick pay that means they don’t have to come into work when ill. We think it’s important that you hear directly from those people.
1 Source: Companies house accounts for Atalian Servest Holdings Ltd, Alstom Transport UK Ltd, First-Trenitalia West Coast Ltd