Union Claims Victory in Campaign for Cleaners

Union Claims Victory in Campaign for Cleaners

The Union representing cleaners, the Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota (SFWU), has claimed a victory in their struggle to bring improvements to the Cleaning Industry with this week's payment of a 50 cents an hour increase for Total Property Service cleaners.

The SFWU has been holding a St Valentine's Day vigil outside Total Property-cleaned buildings in Auckland and Wellington to draw attention to the low pay and poor working conditions of the
cleaning workforce.

"While the 50 cents an hour increase paid by Total Property Services will still only move their cleaning workforce to 25 cents an hour above the new statutory minimum wage, it is the biggest annual increase a cleaning company has paid to its cleaners in the last 16 years," said SFWU National Secretary John Ryall.

"While Total Property Services boasts that it is a company that goes above and beyond industry standards, the standards are so low that they are only just keeping an inch above the statutory minimum wage and other government-imposed minimum legislative regulations," said Mr Ryall.

"The fact that the Building Service Contractors of New Zealand should be priding itself on not paying youth rates and adhering to the Health and Safety in Employment Act is a sad reflection on how far down the cleaning industry has fallen."

The St Valentine's Day vigils outside the State Insurance Building in Wellington and the Price Waterhouse Coopers Building in Auckland finish at 12 noon today with some prayers of hope for a better future for cleaners and plans for the continuation of the SFWU Clean Start Campaign.

ENDS

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