CLEANERS “treated like rats” at the Department for Education are set to strike if they fail to win the London living wage, the United Voices of the World (UVW) union said today.

The cleaners, who work at the department’s Sanctuary Buildings, say that staff cuts have left them exhausted and that they are struggling to make ends meet amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Along with a living wage and more staff, they are demanding the same entitlement to sick pay and annual leave as the civil servants they clean up after.