Hundreds of rail cleaners working across south east London are set to strike later this month, as they call for better pay.

RMT members employed by Churchill are staging a 24-hour walkout on February 23, affecting Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern, Southeastern, Eurostar and HS1 trains and stations.

The strikers will be holding a rally outside Parliament at 11am where they will be joined by MPs and other supporters.

The cleaners mostly earn either the national minimum wage of £8.91 per hour, or the living wage of £9.50.

RMT claims rising inflation has left them facing a pay cut in real terms.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “This will be the biggest yet industrial action by cleaners on the rail network and it’s part of our union’s message to the government and employers that the days where they could get away with rank exploitation of this essential workforce are over.

“Our members’ already scandalously low pay is being eaten away and they are justifiably not putting up with it any longer.

“Churchill can afford to pay, so they need to get back to the table with a proper offer, and the government need to tackle the cost of living crisis by ending their callous pay freeze on the railways”.

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.