More than 100 Eurostar train cleaners are to strike on bank holiday monday in a bid to earn the London Living Wage.
The RMT union members will stage a 24-hour walk out from 6am on 25 August after a 100% vote for industrial action.
The cleaners work for contractor OCS and earn £6.37 per hour, and RMT claims that a 25p-per-hour pay offer works out as a real-terms pay cut.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “Eurostar trades on its ethical reputation and claims to tread lightly on the planet, yet it seems happy for OCS to stamp all over the people who keep their trains and stations clean.
“No-one living in or around London can live on £6.37 an hour, but that is what OCS pays, and there is not a penny extra for overtime or bank holidays.”
He continued: “That alone is a disgrace, but on top of that there is no pension, no sick pay and only the bare minimum legal holiday entitlement.
“It would be great if people using Eurostar’s services over the bank holiday could let the company know that it has a moral duty to stop this shameful exploitation.”
London mayor Boris Johnson recently called for all employers in the capital to pay the London Living Wage, which he has raised from £7.20 to £7.45 per hour.
