MPs and peers suffer as service staff strike in Pimlico

Workers
at one of London’s most exclusive residences are striking today in a protest
over pay.

Dolphin
Square in Pimlico, home to several MPs and peers, will be hit by the strike
action.

Chambermaids
and maintenance staff who are members of the Transport and General Workers’
Union are demanding increased wages and a flat rate London allowance.

The
T&G says the Dolphin Square Trust refuse to negotiate with the union.

Many
of the workers are from Portugal, Africa and Eastern Europe, and some earn as
little as £5.41 an hour. 

Nick
Page, T&G regional industrial organiser who has been representing the staff
said: "Life in Dolphin Square is divided. It is a great place to live, but
our members who work there as cleaners, chambermaids and maintenance staff have
to endure poverty pay.

"The
support from residents, including prominent figures who live in the square, has
been overwhelming. 

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"Despite
pressure from their management not to support the strike, more and more workers
at Dolphin Square are joining the T&G. We have a just cause for better pay
and we urge the trust to listen to the union and residents."

By
Quentin Reade