A London Cleaner’s Reality on Barnet Councils outsourced cleaning contract : Working Hard, Still Struggling
I’m a cleaner on a Council contract. I’m proud of the work I do — it matters. But I want people to understand what it’s really like trying to live and raise a family in London on the London Living Wage.
When people talk about the cost-of-living crisis, it can sound like something on the news. For me, it’s everyday life.
Food is so expensive now. Sometimes it’s hard to buy even basic food. And it’s even harder when you have children — they’re hungry all the time, and you can’t just tell them to wait. You do everything you can to make it work, but it never feels like enough.
Then there are clothes. Children grow so fast and they still need what everyone else needs: shoes that fit, warm coats, school things. On top of that I have to find money for gas and electricity. Those bills don’t stop. They don’t care what you earn.
Sometimes I have to borrow money from family. That’s not easy. It’s embarrassing and it’s painful, because you want to stand on your own feet. But when everything costs more and your wages stay the same, you end up with no choice.
What makes it even harder is the way we’re treated at work compared to other people around us.
It’s unfair that my employer holds onto my pay for another 12 days before they pay me. I’m working alongside council workers who get their pay at the end of the month. They don’t have to wait for the wages they’ve earned. Why are we treated differently?
We’re doing our jobs. We’re turning up. We’re keeping places clean, safe and working properly. But we are the lowest paid staff — and everything is made that much harder for us.
We only get the London Living Wage. We don’t get sick pay. That means if I’m ill, or if something happens, it’s not just a health worry — it becomes a money worry too. You start thinking, “If I can’t work, how will I pay bills? How will I buy food?” That’s not how anyone should have to live.
And another thing that doesn’t feel right is the delay in getting the London Living Wage increase. The new rate is announced in October, but a lot of employers don’t bring it in until 1 April. That’s about six months of waiting.
But prices don’t wait six months. Rent doesn’t wait. Food doesn’t wait. Gas and electricity don’t wait. If the London Living Wage is the rate people need to live on, then it should be paid from the moment it’s announced — not half a year later.
London is an expensive city. I work hard. I’m not asking for special treatment. I just want fairness — and to be treated like my council worker colleagues. I want to be paid on time. I want proper sick pay. And I want the London Living Wage paid when it’s announced, because that’s when families like mine actually need it.
That’s why I support Barnet UNISON’s campaign to make sure Council contracts include a clause so the new London Living Wage rate is applied from the announcement date — not months later. Because people like me shouldn’t have to struggle this much just to get by.
End.