Kerry Vernon, Sydney

Office cleaners held two noisy rallies in the city on August 24, part of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union’s (LHMU) “Clean start — fair deal for cleaners” campaign.

The action at Martin Place defended 20 Thai-speaking cleaners threatened with the sack after their new boss wanted to cut their hourly pay by 13%. Later, 100 cleaners and their supporters marched from Hyde Park and created a cacophony in front of the Energy Australia building.

Thai-speaking cleaners work in the 14-storey Commonwealth Bank building. Their new employer, Solutions Property Service, has threatened to sack them if they don’t sign individual employment contracts. The cleaners were not allowed to read the new agreement, take it home or show it to the LHMU.

“There are major problems in the contract cleaning industry in the Sydney CBD and Solutions Property Services is leading the race to the bottom”, said Mark Boyd, NSW LHMU Cleaners Union president.

At the later protest, cleaners demanded wage increases owed to them after extended good-faith negotiations between the LHMU Cleaners Union and contract cleaning company Broadlex. Broadlex employees have not been paid the $0.33 per hour pay increase given since July 1 to most other unionised cleaners employed in the Sydney CBD.

Broadlex is using the Work Choices laws to beat down wages and conditions, according to Rebecca Reilly, LHMU organising coordinator. Cleaners at the company have not had a wage increase for more than a year.

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