CLEANERS at the Department for Education have launched a strike ballot, their union United Voices of the World (UVW) said today.

The cleaners receive inferior entitlements to annual leave and sick pay than the civil servants they clean up after, according to UVW, and also report a considerable increase in workload over recent years due to staff cuts.

The union says their contractor ISS UK Limited has refused to negotiate on demands for a living wage, equal sick pay and annual leave with Civil Service workers, and appropriate staffing levels.