United Voice News
In this issue:
1.International Cleaners Day Party
3. Members tell feds: A Clean Start for all!
4. ISS agreement gets official tick
5. Standing up to make sure Clean Start “becomes real”
Dear member,
Three years ago we began our Clean Start campaign city cleaning members celebrated winning their historic agreement.
As ISS member Phillip Seddon said: ‘It just shows what you can achieve together with a united front.’
By growing together and fighting for a fair deal, city cleaning members developed a strong voice.
In the end, our voice was too strong for contractors to fight against, and they had no choice but to give us a fair deal.
Now we’ve taken our strength and determination to the country’s top politicians.
Recently, 15 delegates and leaders from Melbourne met with other cleaning members from around the country in Canberra.
United, they told cabinet ministers including Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner about the importance of Clean Start and bringing it to cleaners in government buildings.
Our strength and unity is making us the leading voice in our industry. We should feel very proud about that.
But we also need to keep building our strength, so that all members in our industry win a Clean Start.
Jess Walsh
Secretary,
LHMU Victoria
1.International Cleaners Day Party
Members marched through the city on International Cleaners Day to celebrate winning the Clean Start campaign that they launched on that day three years ago.
ISS cleaner Phillip Seddon got involved in Clean Start from the beginning because wages were too low to live on and companies were ignoring cleaners.
‘I feel fantastic. It has taken time but we’ve won it. I’m overjoyed with it and I’m looking forward to the future. We can look forward to a bright future with the success we’ve had.’
‘To march together down Swanston St was fantastic, just to show the people that we’re going to fight and we’re not going to be messed around with,’ Phillip said.
‘It just shows what you can achieve together with a united front.’
‘I’m just really, really happy that we won Clean Start. We are working so hard. We deserve it,’ ISS cleaner Katalina Santos said.
Community supporter Melba Marginson of the Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Coalition said the win is an inspiration for workers from all backgrounds.
‘I’ve realised how historic this win is. This is not just you winning these concessions from employers, it is giving the union movement a different face, the face of the multicultural people.’
LHMU Victorian Secretary Jess Walsh said members should be very proud that they stuck it out, especially last year when the major companies refused to negotiate.
‘We didn’t walk away, we didn’t give up, we stood together, and we regrouped, and we fought even harder,’ Jess said.
‘We’ve won so much more than just an agreement, we’ve won the union, we’ve won solidarity, we’ve won the knowledge that when we fight, we win.’
2. Clean Start video
Click here to watch The Union Show video about the Clean Start campaign...
3. Members tell feds: A Clean Start for all!
CBD cleaning delegates from Melbourne joined delegates from around the country to lobby top government ministers in Canberra.
About 50 delegates and leaders told cabinet ministers about the importance of Clean Start, and to push for more government support.
‘We explained to them the agreement, and we said to them we need to pass the agreement for all cleaners, not just for cleaners in the city,’ Melbourne ISS member Steve Dimovski said.
‘They listened to us very well. I was very happy with them. They responded in a positive way.’
‘They said they can help us, that they can lobby to get all the cleaners on the same (Clean Start) agreement.’
Having won Clean Start, Steve said members around the country are working together to become the leading voice in the cleaning industry.
‘We see what goes on in our cities, but its been so great to meet everyone, see that the problems we face and the solutions are the same – and that we’re not alone – and we can do this, together,’ another delegate to Canberra said.
4. ISS agreement gets official tick
The Clean Start agreement with ISS is the first to be approved by the government.
City cleaning members’ agreement with ISS will take effect soon.
ISS member Aracelly Hernandez (pictured, middle) said it is ‘awesome’ to finally have the agreement confirmed.
‘I’m very happy that we conquered. We are the winners now. Excelente’
‘Now we are full of energy and we are full of ideas. We better not let these ideas go to sleep. We need to build on this good result, we can’t be complacent,’ Aracelly said.
‘We need to start working harder to get more and more, to make sure what we fought for becomes real, not only for us, but for the other people that come after us.’
Clean Start agreements with other major city contractors are currently waiting for government approval.
Cleaners at some sites will soon vote on the agreement.
5. Standing up to make sure Clean Start “becomes real”
ISS city cleaning member Ana Arbizu recently became a delegate to help make sure the Clean Start Agreement “becomes real”.
‘We have just started with this collective agreement but the harder part is going to come because we have to ensure the companies make these changes,’ Ana said.
‘We are fighting for our rights and we need people to join us to be stronger. I joined because I think I can help to do this job in my building.’
Winning the Clean Start Agreement has been about more than just fair pay and hours, it is about winning respect. That is why Ana is so determined.
‘I have been working as a cleaner for a long, long time and we saw things in the buildings that are not right. Now we can fight to say that’s not right; before we just had to say yes, yes. They gave you more jobs, they said things to you that are not good, but you couldn’t say anything.’
‘But now, we can do something because there is someone behind us.’
‘As a delegate I can help make Clean Start happen.’
