Merseyrail Contractor Faces Strike Over 20p Pay Gap

UK: Around 40 station cleaners employed by Churchill Services have begun a 24-hour strike across Merseyrail after rejecting a 10p-an-hour offer and seeking a 20p hourly pay differential.

The dispute involves cleaning staff working under Churchill Services after the outsourcing company secured a contract in June 2024 covering all 69 Merseyrail stations.

According to the RMT, the workers have historically received a 20p differential above increases linked to the Real Living Wage. The union says Churchill declined to maintain that full differential and instead offered 10p an hour, which the majority of members rejected.

A small hourly gap sits at the centre of the dispute

RMT regional organiser Jimmy Brown said maintaining the full 20p increase would cost Churchill about £18,000 a year. He also said workers in Tyne and Wear had received a 20p increase and that Merseyside staff were seeking parity.

The union has contrasted that estimated cost with Churchill’s finances. It said the company reported £15.3 million in post-tax profit for the 2025 financial year and distributed approximately £13.5 million in dividends.

Those figures form part of the union’s case for a higher offer, but they do not by themselves establish how the Merseyrail cleaning contract allocates responsibility for wage increases. In the supplied account, Brown says Merseyrail funds the Real Living Wage increase while Churchill is responsible for the additional differential; no independent contract wording is provided.

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Strike runs for 24 hours

The industrial action began on August 7 and is due to run until the morning of August 8. RMT represents the workers involved in the dispute.

Merseyrail said contingency arrangements were in place to minimise any impact on customer experience. The supplied material does not identify station closures, train cancellations or other confirmed service disruption resulting from the action.

The immediate issue therefore remains the difference between Churchill’s 10p offer and the 20p differential sought by the cleaners, against the wider background of an outsourced contract covering the full Merseyrail station network.