Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council, with GMB union, are calling on Wandsworth residents to support a campaign to ensure that all workers employed by outsourced contractors working for the council are paid a London living wage of £10.75 per hour.

Staff employed by Continental Landscapes doing street cleaning are paid £8,50 per hour, while staff at ISS doing estate cleaning and Quadron doing parks and gardens are being paid on £8.21 per hour.

Other workers in the area employed by outsourced contractors are school cleaners, home care staff, refuse staff as well as facilities management staff across the borough.

By contrast Wandsworth Council's Band D council tax of £770.31 is half of the level of council tax in other London boroughs.

It is the lower paid staff employed by outsourcing contractors working for Wandsworth Council that are paying a very high price for this boasting about the lowest council tax in the country.

For those on or just above the national minimum wage this is more than £2.50 per hour below a London living wage of £10.75 per hour. For full time workers this nearly £100 per week or just less than £5,000 per year below the living wage levels. The same goes for other terms and conditions at work which are also lower.

This is a very big saving for the council taxpayers of Wandsworth. Sadly, many residents seem oblivious at this exploitation of the lower paid workers working directly for them to keep the streets clean, grass mowed etc.

BWTUC and GMB are calling for Wandsworth Council to follow the lead of Kensington and Chelsea Council by adopting a policy that all outsourced contractors will be funded and required to pay London living wage of £10.75 per hour.

This exploitation of the lower paid workers, many of whom are migrant workers, working directly for the public in a borough with average earnings for residents working full time of £64,761 has to stop. These lower paid workers deserve the support of the all fair minded people.