United Voice News
Sydney's cleaners celebrate as contractors sign on to reform contract cleaning
After a two and a half year battle Sydney cleaners watched a majority of NSW contractors commit to implementing the Clean Start Union Collective Agreement to reform the contract cleaning industry.
Nine contractors signed on to implement the Agreement at a function organised by the LHMU – The cleaners’ union. They are:
“By signing on to the agreement, contractors formally accepted what cleaners have been saying for years: the industry is in crisis and unsustainable. Cleaners have borne the brunt of their vicious price-cutting war and the only viable solution is for us to work together to create better jobs and a better industry,” says Mark Boyd, Secretary of the NSW Branch of the LHMU.
“The Clean Start Agreement will secure a better future for contractors, as well as better services for tenants and better maintenance of property owners’ valuable assets. This is good news for the whole industry.”
ISS, Australia’s largest contractor cleaning company is the first national contractor to commit to the Collective Agreement. ISS Human Resources Director Darryl Prince describes the achievement as the culmination of months of work by the negotiating team on both sides of the table. He says “With the Industrial Relations framework changing at unprecedented speed in Australia, we are delighted that we could work with the LHMU towards an outcome that works for all stakeholders.”
Commenting on today’s development Louise Tarrant, National Secretary of the LHMU says “Cleaners in NSW and ACT - where an overwhelming majority of contractors have committed to the agreement - are to be commended for leading the way on reform of an industry which has basically been devouring itself.”
