Media Release: Australian cleaners join international campaign for standard working hours

Cleaners in Australia and around the world will commemorate International Cleaners' Day on Sunday 15 June by campaigning to replace short, fragmented daily shifts with standard working hours.

Louse Tarrant, National Secretary of the LHMU the cleaners' union says:

"This week cleaners in Australia are a step closer to achieving minimum 4 hour shifts, a key claim in our Clean Start fair deal for cleaners campaign.

"Our negotiations with contract cleaning industry contractors are continuing and I'm confident we can extend shifts around the nation.

"Already as a result of our Clean Start campaign working conditions for cleaners in some CBD buildings have improved by the introduction of 4 hour shifts.

"Unfortunately, Australian is no exemption to the international norm of short shifts and low pay rates for cleaners.

"Shifts are so short - often just one hour - and pay rates so low that cleaners need to take on two or three jobs to survive and even then cleaners average pay is only $302 per week. This is typical of the cleaning industry internationally but it's not good enough.

"Despite the trend to part-time work, the Productivity Commission confimed this week that part-time workers want more hours. The Productivity Commission found that 35% of men and 25% of women who work part time want more hours."

"In our negotiations contractors have agreed that cleaners need significant pay increases. They'll be working with us over the nest two weeks to decide how increases can be phased in.

"The battle is not over yet but these are significant breakthroughs in the fight by Australian cleaners to create better jobs in the contract cleaning industry."