Contracted out cleaning staff will mount picket lines for 11 days from April 27 to May 7 in their fight for a £15 per hour pay rate.

Currently cleaners working on Churchill contracts on GTR, Eurostar, SE trains, and HS1 can earn as little £8.91 an hour.

RMT is also demanding company sick pay and free travel for cleaning staff across the network, in line every other worker on the railway.

This on the back of a cost-of-living crisis with prices rising at their fastest rate in 30 years and inflation running at 7 percent.

In 2020 Churchill made £39m profit yet has refused to raise cleaners’ wages to a decent standard.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "Churchill have shown a complete disregard for key workers who were rightly considered heroes in the pandemic.

"With the profits Churchill makes, they could easily pay our members a fair wage, pay company sick pay and allow free travel across the network, just like directly employed railway staff.

"But Churchill have offered nothing meaningful to in our pursuit of pay justice.

"RMT will continue to ramp up its campaign and ensure that these greedy multimillion pound contractors are stripped of their ability to exploit workers on our railways."