SWINDON is set to be the battleground for railway workers protesting against poor pay and zero-hours contracts.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union working for sub-contractors Mitie with First Great Western are on strike for the third time in four weeks this morning.

The cleaners walked out at 6am and are not expected to return to their posts until 6am on Saturday, with no improvement yet made on the offer of a two per cent wage rise rejected by the RMT earlier this year.

Swindon will take centre stage tomorrow with a large-scale protest expected to take place at the doors of First Great Western’s headquarters in Milford Street from 1pm.

At least three coaches full of protestors, including striking staff from Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol and London Paddington are expected to descend on the town.

The RMT has said it wants to put pressure on the rail franchise to take notice of the conditions being placed upon workers by Mitie, a contractor they have a deal with to provide cleaning solutions for their trains and stations.

Anger at RMT has been stoked by the revelation Mitie Group PLC made pre-tax profits of £58.8m, which led to shareholders receiving a dividend of £20.6m.

A spokesperson for the South West and South Wales RMT said: “These cleaning companies put a bid in and the lowest bidder gets the job.

“What we are saying is, it is wrong for First Great Western to be handing out a contract which does not include a retail price index arrangement or a living wage increase.

“Obviously they are trying to persuade Mitie it would be in their best interests to get around the table and start negotiating seriously, and addressing the major issues, such as a living wage and zero hours contracts.

“We are trying to bring the attention of Mitie to First Great Western’s attention with the protest at their headquarters.”

First Great Western does not anticipate any effects to their services throughout this strike.

A spokesperson said: “Mitie are contractors for First Great Western and we have been working with Mitie to ensure they meet their contractual obligations.”

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: “Today and tomorrow, RMT will be handing out tens of thousands of leaflets to FGW passengers asking them to email the company in support of the cleaners who do some of the dirtiest jobs on the network for some of the lowest wages.”