Jubilant Sydney Office Cleaners Celebrate Historic "7 Fair Solutions Win"
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Industry - Industrial Relations Press Release16th October 2009, 03:10am - Views: 880
16 October 2009
Sydney office cleaners are celebrating a historic win in their three and a half year campaign for fair pay and working conditions.
The trigger pont has just been reached in NSW for the new Clean Start Collective Agreement - the point when the Agreement becomes effective in Sydney's CBD.
Rebecca Reilly, NSW Branch, Vice-President of LHMU - The cleaner's union - says "This is a historic win by cleaners who are some of the most marginalised workers in our society.
"Under the Clean Start Collective Agreement cleaners will see hard fought for "7 Fair Solutions" introduced across Sydney's offices winning fair hours, fair workloads, fair pay, fair job security, fair treatment, fair leave and fair rights.
"The Clean Start fair deal for cleaners campaign was launched in 2006 because cleaners were caught in the cross-fire of a vicious price-cutting war in the contract cleaning industry. The race to the bottom saw cleaners' workloads increase and working conditions decline while maintenance of buildings suffered as standards dropped.
"This win means cleaners are fundamentally changing this industry - a proud achievement for this invisible workforce of mostly migrant, undervalued, underpaid cleaners working in isolation in empty buildings.
"Under the Agreement over the next four years office cleaners' full time pay will increase to $21.17 per hour and the part-time night shift workers rate will increase to $24.35 per hour.
"Cleaners changing to the new minimum 4 hour shifts could receive increases of at least $100 per week and up to $200 per week. This means a lot to workers whose average wage is a little over $300 per week.
"The next step is to finalise the paperwork. This could take some weeks but after three and a half long, hard years of Clean Start campaigning this is a down-hill run," says Rebecca Reilly.
Contact: Nada Vlatko - 0425 242 691
SOURCE: LHMU
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