SYDNEY CENTRE CLEANERS WALK OFF THE JOB
05 Dec 2011
AAP Sydney Morning Herald Sydney shopping centre cleaners have walked off the job in protest over an ongoing pay dispute.
Sydney shopping centre cleaners have walked off the job in protest over an ongoing pay dispute.
Cleaners employed by Spotless kickstarted a national industrial action campaign in the run-up to Christmas on Thursday, rallying outside Westfield Shopping Centre in Sydney's CBD.
Spotless employs cleaners at shopping centres across the country, including a number of Westfield centres.
The union representing cleaners, United Voice, said its members voted for industrial action after Spotless spent a year refusing to discuss wages and conditions with union representatives.
"Cleaners make these centres attractive through hard, dirty, often unpleasant work, yet they are paid $16.57 an hour and Spotless refuses to even talk about an increase," United Voice president Rebecca Reilly said in a statement.
Spotless said the 16 shopping centres it maintains would stay clean and tidy at all times throughout any industrial action, saying all shifts would be fully staffed during the festive season.
"The union's unrealistic Clean Start Retail claim will only result in punishing cleaners with lost wages in the lead-up to Christmas," the company said in a statement.
Spotless called on United Voice to work with it and other stakeholders to design "constructive changes" to the cleaning services award and submit these to Fair Work Australia.
Glad and Assetlink cleaners at retail shopping centres are also balloting for protected industrial action in shopping centres across the country.
The ballot for Glad and Assetlink cleaners closes on December 7.
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