The Guardian 26 April, 2006
"Clean Start" sweeps into action
Cleaners fight for wages and conditions
Invisible armies of cleaners, forced to work three times faster than their American colleagues, are now mopping up their own industry. They are turning the blowtorch on the owners of the office blocks, pressuring them to end the race to the bottom through cutting cleaners’ wages and increasing workloads. The "Clean Start" campaign was kicked off around Australian and New Zealand last week by the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers’ Union in Australia and the Service and Food Workers Union in New Zealand.
The unions point out that the property services industry in Australia and New Zealand is in crisis. Incomes for cleaners and security officers are so low the industry is incapable of attracting and retaining a stable workforce.
The campaign comes at a critical time for cleaners, as basic wages are under threat by the federal WorkChoices legislation and workloads are intensifying, with the Australian benchmark now at 1,000 square metres per hour — compared with the North American standard of 300-400 square metres per hour.
Under the "Clean Start" plan, instead of directly targeting employers (mostly contractors) — who are squeezed by competitors — unions are seeking agreement on minimum standards for the entire industry.
The human cost of a continuation of the current situation — let alone any worsening — is unarguable. Over 140,000 cleaners and security officers in Australia and New Zealand work numerous short shifts at difficult and varying hours, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Forced to work a number of jobs at a variety of sites in order to survive, they still live well below the poverty line.
Precarious and casualised jobs yield an average income of less than $10,000 per year. The majority of cleaners are women from non-English speaking backgrounds with dependant children living at home.
Traditionally it has been the cleaning industry that offered one of the prime ways for immigrants to enter the mainstream workforce, to build a future for themselves through hard work. Now the industry has become a workplace kept behind locked doors where the most vulnerable are kept in an unending cycle of exploitation and marginalisation.
Cleaners and security officers themselves cannot provide the level of service they would like because they are constantly instructed to cut costs and work faster. In a 2004 report on contract cleaners it was found that:
One in four cleaners have inadequate time to do their work
One in five cleaners had to use the same mops for toilets as other areas
Some cleaners were told to cut sponges in half to save supplies.
The impact of these conditions has led to:
Massive employee turnover
Lack of training
Security risks
An unstable and transient workforce
Occupational health and safety problems.
Cleaning jobs are precarious jobs with 60-70 per cent employed on a part-time or casual basis; workers forced to hold a number of cleaning jobs; each with very little security; working shifts that are 2-4 hours long and which can start any hour during the day and night. The Building Service Contractors’ Association estimates average hours of work to be 15 hours per week, but in reality many cleaners work even fewer hours.
The average income for cleaners is $8,200 while the poverty level wage for an individual is $15,288 and for a family $32,864.
As well as poor pay, cleaners face a range of occupational health and safety problems. Cleaners are frequently exposed to chemical risks, electrical hazards from faulty machinery, and heavy lifting.
The campaign includes the aim of getting the top end of town commercial property owners like GPT, Mirvac and Macquarie to only award contracts to companies that respect:
Basic wages
Health and safety standards
The right of workers to organise.
Also that the duration of any contract should be consistent with the remuneration and terms of employment that reflect the industry standard as expressed in awards and agreements and any code of conduct that may apply.
The unions argue that these sorts of standards are ultimately in the interests of the property companies — with the quality of office cleaning one of the key issues for their tenants.
The campaign has the backing of religious leaders and community identities including Canberra Raiders rugby league Captain Clinton Schifcofske who told 180 rallying cleaners in Canberra that sticking together applied as much to the workplace as on the football field.
In Sydney, former cleaner Rakchanok Sothanaphasian told her story of going two months unpaid when she started work.
The Thai-born union organiser said when she came to Australia, like many immigrant workers she was unaware of her rights. "When you are from a non-English speaking background it’s hard", Sothanaphasian said.
Andy Stern, the leader of the 1.8 million member union organising cleaners in the USA sent a message of support to cleaners in Australia and New Zealand taking part in the launch of "Clean Start".
"Today is a day you’re going to look back on and be very proud of. Your success in creating a better life for yourselves your children and those who will follow means a great deal to those of us fighting for justice here in the USA, and around the globe. Whether you know it or not your lives are intertwined with the lives of cleaners here in the US", the message said.
"Many cleaners in the US are immigrants. Many of you are immigrants. Cleaners in the US take pride in their work. You take pride in your work. Many cleaners in the US work for multinational companies. Many of you work for multinational cleaning companies.
"Many of the buildings US janitors clean are owned by the rich and super-rich. Many of the buildings you clean are owned by the same multinational property companies that own buildings in the US. The victory you’ll achieve will set the table for others here in the US and around the world.
"Today is only a beginning and if you think of this as a journey, most journeys seem easy when you start out. You’ll face many struggles on the road to victory. Cleaners in Miami, Florida, a playground for the rich and famous in the Southern United States, are today on a hunger a strike to win the dignity and respect they deserve.
"Creating change is never easy. I want you to know SEIU cleaners are with you. SEIU’s 1.8 million members are with you. You’re going to win and your victory will lead to many more", concluded Andy Stern in the SEIU message.