Freedom Socialist Bulletin • Number 36 • Summer/Autumn 2007

UnionEyes


Cleaners demand justice, respect and a damn pay rise!


Auckland, New Zealand: On Friday, November 3, cleaners and their supporters rallied outside the posh Hyatt Hotel. Inside, cleaning industry bosses were holding their annual Golden Service Awards to recognise excellence.

Disgruntled and low-paid cleaners, active with the Clean Start campaign of the Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota (SFWU), made their grievances loud and clear. Cleaners, who are predominantly Maori and Pacific Island women, are paid a miserable $10.95 per hour and do not get any shift penalties. One cleaner told the protest, "They won't invite us to their lunch or their awards, but they can't stop us from telling the world about how we are treated."

The employers' awards recognising "excellence in the cleaning industry," were judged according to criteria that included occupational health and safety, innovation and contract staff's appearance, attitude and enthusiasm. Those attending the rally distributed a leaflet addressing each criterion from the workers' perspective. Clean Start activists say, "Low-paid cleaners working in appalling conditions, provided with the most basic uniforms, are expected to be the smiling face of the contractor they work for. Well, excuse us for not being enthusiastic!"

While the bosses of cleaning firms patted each other on the back and dined on chardonnay and chicken fettuccine, workers held their own awards on the footpath outside the hotel. They presented the Golden Toilet Duck Award to the worst employer in the cleaning industry. The winner was Spotless Services. Spotless is the largest cleaning firm in New Zealand. Those who mop, vacuum, empty bins and clean toilets to generate profits for Spotless say they do not have enough time to do their jobs properly. They complain of poor equipment and unsafe working conditions and lousy pay. Spotless was nominated as the cleaning firm which has the least respect for cleaners.

Sue Lafaele, a SFWU delegate and cleaner with Spotless, was scathing about the conditions she faces at work. Sue described how Spotless victimises union activists. "You know why I am on night shift? The supervisor put me there when I started becoming union active. He hoped to stop me talking to other workers about our rights — but it didn't work! I'm the union delegate and I've been working hard as a cleaner for years. I now work from 11 pm at night until 7 am in the morning, and then I come home and get my son ready for school and look after the rest of my family. What we would really like is to have a house for our family, but how can we afford it on these wages? No bank will ever give me a loan when I earn $10.95, and how can I save money on my wages?"

Reverend Mue Strickson Pua of the Newtown Pacific Islanders' Presbyterian Church demanded that Spotless increase pay and improve conditions. He also performed a moving poem that paid tribute to the work of cleaners.

International greetings were also presented to the protest. Peter Murray brought a message of solidarity on behalf of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union. He spoke about the shocking record of Spotless in Australia that tried to force young food vendors at the MCG into individual contractor arrangements. Alison Thorne spoke on behalf of Radical Women. She argued that one of the reasons the pay is so low is because cleaning is seen as women's work.

The Clean Start campaign was launched in April 2006 when 1,600 cleaners and their supporters mobilised across ten cities in Australia and New Zealand. Since the campaign was launched, cleaners have been holding regular rallies and pickets outside buildings owned by the big corporations. Cleaners say they won't be ignored any longer, and they are naming and shaming contractors who expect workers to survive on poverty wages.

Alison Thorne

To get involved in the ongoing campaign, contact the Liquor Miscellaneous and Hospitality Workers Union in Australia (61 3 9235 7777) and the Service and Food Workers Union in New Zealand (64 9 375 2755).