United Voice News
Risk of city cleaners’ strike mounts as biggest contractor offers new pay deal
Australia’s largest cleaning contractor will today sign off on a new pay offer for cleaners.
Under the proposal, ISS cleaners will be offered longer hours of work, job security and pay increases.
Now that ISS Facility Services has made its offer, there is mounting pressure on other major contractors still yet to sign, including Consolidated Property Services and Mutual Cleaning.
Cleaners are demanding these other major contractors also sign on to the Clean Start national industry agreement, and are willing to take industrial action.
The ISS pay offer follows more than two years of campaigning by office cleaners across Australia for an end to poverty wages, through their Clean Start: Fair Deal for Cleaners campaign.
Cleaners say they cannot survive on average wages of just $300 a week, and shifts as short as just two hours.
In September, contractors around the country withdrew from bargaining, telling cleaners they could stay on poverty award wages.
LHMU Cleaners Union State Secretary Jess Walsh congratulated ISS for taking a lead in the industry and committing to provide decent, secure jobs.
“Now the other major contractors, like Consolidated Property Services and Mutual Cleaning, must also sign or they will face mounting pressure from their cleaners.”
“A cleaners’ strike would seriously disrupt rubbish removal and toilet cleaning inside major city buildings. It would not be pretty. Office workers need to be prepared for that.”
ISS spokesperson Darryl Prince hailed today’s offer as “the culmination of months of work by the negotiating team on both sides of the table.”
“It also honours the ISS commitment to the LHMU when it was the first in the Cleaning Industry to sign up as a Responsible Contractor with the LHMU over two years ago.”
17 October 2008
To find out more go to: http://www.cleanstart.org.au
