OUTSOURCED London Underground cleaners have demanded an end to privatisation on the Tube and accused the agency that employs them of “widespread discrimination.”

RMT members working for the ABM agency protested outside Parliament today, supported by several Labour MPs including shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

The company, which employs 2,000 cleaners on the Underground, was handed the lucrative cleaning contract by London Mayor Sadiq Khan in 2017.

An RMT-commissioned study of the cleaners found that more than one in three had been unfairly treated in the workplace because of their race, religion, age, sexuality or sex.

Nearly seven out of 10 (68 per cent) of the workers believe their bosses put profits before safe working conditions and the same number admitted to struggling financially.

Nearly eight out of 10 (76 per cent) of workers said their jobs should be brought in house, while 91 per cent said they would rather be employed directly by London Underground.

RMT senior assistant general secretary Steve Hedley told cleaners: “We have to say to Sadiq Khan: you should be out here today demanding that these cleaners are brought in house.”

Labour MP Paula Barker told the Morning Star: “Keeping services in house brings up living standards and fair pay.

“It’s an absolute travesty that these workers are being treated like second-class citizens.

“We have to ensure that we’re with them every step of the way, And it’s got to be practical support.

“As a newly elected Labour MP, I have always said that I will stand with workers in struggle and that’s what I am prepared to do with comrades in the RMT.”

An ABM spokesperson said:  “Our colleagues have a vital role in keeping the London Underground clean and we are proud of the service they offer commuters every day.

“For that reason, we are pleased to offer a pay and benefits package to the thousands of colleagues who work on the Tube which compares favourably to the average for the cleaning profession in the UK.

“We are also committed to offering the new London Living Wage as of April 2020.”

MPs have tabled a parliamentary motion calling for cleaning on the Tube to be brought back in house.