Cleaning union United Voice's plan to fight dirty against Westfield

CLEANERS demanding better pay and conditions from their employers could punish Westfield shoppers by not cleaning toilets or emptying rubbish bins in the busy Christmas season.

The cleaners' union, United Voice, is targeting Spotless - the contractor paid by Westfield to clean its Centrepoint and Mt Druitt shopping centres - seeking more money and better working conditions.

Staff are voting on which action to take - all out stoppages or bans for example on cleaning toilets, emptying bins, clearing the food court or mopping up spills.

The action could not come at a worse time for the shopping centres in the lead up to their busiest trading period of the year.

"Cleaners believe they are overworked, underpaid, understaffed and under-equipped," said United Voice NSW president Rebecca Reilly.

"The cleaners have had to make really hard decisions in relation to this. They are concerned but they know they need to take action to ensure better pay and conditions for themselves but also because they are concerned about hygiene and safety at shopping centres they work at."

They want an increase to match the amount paid to office cleaners - a base rate of $19.65 an hour, rising to $21 next year. The union also claims cleaners aren't provided with enough chemicals and equipment to thoroughly clean centres.

"Our cleaners take real pride in what they do, so a lot of the time they work unpaid overtime just to make sure the toilets are clean and things are picked up," Ms Reilly said.

"Many cleaners are bringing their own gloves, sponges and mops just to be able to provide the service that they want to provide the public.

"If Spotless want to sit down and properly negotiate and listen to the concerns of cleaners and work with us, we would be more than happy to do that. Unfortunately we have no alternative but to make the decisions that cleaners are making now."

The union will follow with similar action against contractors Glad Property Group and Assetlink in January, around the time of the summer sales.

These contractors provide cleaning services to Westfield shopping centres in Bondi Junction and Parramatta.

Shopping centres in Blacktown and Rhodes which are not owned by Westfield will also be affected.

Spotless says it is being unfairly targeted by the union.

"Spotless abides by and pays award wages as agreed by Fair Work Australia," a company spokeswoman said.

"Sadly, the United Voice Union fails to target the hundreds of cleaning companies operating in Australia who persist in paying cash in hand payments or wages that are less than the award."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/cleaning-union-plan-to-fight-dirty/story-e6freuy9-1226193377968