United Voice News
Nearly 8000 support KEEP IT CLEAN
Today, school cleaners were proud to hand almost 8,000 KEEP IT CLEAN supporter postcards to NSW IR Minister Paul Lynch and MP Alison Megarrity.
The Minister and MP Megarrity were announcing an in-principle agreement to set up a portability of long service leave scheme for contract cleaners in NSW. This was also one of the asks in the KEEP IT CLEAN campaign.
MP Megarrity received the postcards saying: "When you look at them, they tell a story. Not only because when you look at them, you see them from far and wide but because it shows what effort [school cleaners] have gone to make this happen."
School cleaners have been busy lobbying MPs and their school communities to support their campaign for a fairer cleaning contract from the NSW Government. The government has today put the schools' cleaning contract out to tender.
LHMU NSW Assistant Secretary Mel Gatfield congratulated school cleaners on their efforts to get so many postcards signed. "It's a proud day for cleaners who talked to everyone in their school community – teachers, principals, P&Cs – to get them to support the KEEP IT CLEAN campaign," she said.
"Today's announcement that the government had agreed in-principle to set up a portable long service leave scheme for cleaners fulfils one of the asks of school cleaners' campaign."
School cleaners are also asking for a sick leave safety net, job security, fair funding in the contract and an effective voice.
Earlier in the year, school cleaner at Menai Primary School Barbara Mannix had actually lobbied MP Megarrity to support the school cleaners' KEEP IT CLEAN for our schools’ future campaign. "The members listened to what we said," Barbara said today.
