NSW school cleaners are campaigning for Chris Minns’ Labor government to fix the failed private cleaning model.
Their video statements, released on February 9, gave details of their extreme workloads and dangerous workplaces as well as their low pay.
The United Workers Union (UWU) released a damning report the same day which reveals that private operators are making millions in profits. Cleaners said the model in public schools and buildings is “fundamentally broken”.
The 30-year system of privatised contracts “undermines both cleaning and employment standards”, the report noted. It rewards companies which compete to reduce pay and conditions to make a profit.
“It is unacceptable that hundreds of millions of dollars of public money continues to be spent on a system in which companies profit while precarious work is endemic, workplace injuries are rife, and the basic need of clean schools and building is not being satisfactorily delivered,” the report said.
The report has been sent to a government review of the privatised cleaning contracts.
It reveals investors in multinational companies benefit while 7000 cleaners — the majority of whom are women over 45 years of age — undertake one of the most dangerous occupations.
Pooja, a single mum who cleans a whole school by herself, said in one of the video statements: “I would like to tell the government to reduce the pressure because we are bound only for two minutes in a classroom, which is not enough, and after that they come and fail the school and we are in trouble again.”
Ferdie said in another video statement: “We have three cleaners at school now. When I first started, some 33 years ago, we had eight cleaners. In fact, we had less infrastructure then and eight cleaners to do the work. You have really got to look at these contractors. It’s just not working.”
A recent survey of 300 cleaners found more than one-third reported they had been injured at work; almost half said cleaning hours had been cut at their schools and 34% reported they had suffered bullying and harassment.
UWU spokesperson Linda Revill said the review is the “right first step towards fixing a broken system”.
She said “cleaners are facing impossible workloads from private contractors imposing a stop-watch mentality” that means cleaners are expected to complete more than 600 tasks a day.
“The fact many are being paid $24.07 an hour — way below what other states pay their school cleaners — makes a bad situation even worse.”
“Cleaners are stressed about not finishing their jobs; they are injuring themselves in the rush and students, teachers and schools are left without the required cleaning,” Revill said.
The UWU pointed to state insurer iCare’s premiums as evidence that cleaners in public schools have one of the highest injury rates in NSW. Premiums for cleaners in the public system are double those working the same job in the non-government school system.
“The privatised approach where cleaners are treated as robots rather than human beings has to stop,” Revill said.