Category: Public and Commercial Services

Cleaners at Auckland Airport will be stopping work today and going on strike, after their employer OCS has offered zero increase in recent negotiations.

The workers will strike in groups and will be on a picket line at the Auckland Domestic Terminal (Air New Zealand side) from 1:30pm until 2:30pm.

OCS is one of the parties to the multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) for commercial cleaners, which also includes ISS, City Cleaning, PPCS, Total Property Services (TPS), Millennium, Kleenrite, Watershed, United Cleaning Services, and Westferry. These companies hold some of the biggest cleaning contracts across both the public and private sector.

While the MECA has been settled with some margin above the minimum wage in previous years, this time the employers aren’t budging.

Jacqueline Davis, an airport cleaner who will be going on strike today, says the zero offer shows the companies don’t care about their workers.

“Personally, I think they just don’t give a damn about us. We’re nothing in their eyes, we’re just the little cleaners,” Jacqueline says.

“OCS and all the other companies need to treat us with respect. If it wasn’t for us cleaners, the airport would be a hell of a mess. They need to treat us like people, we are sick of being treated like doormats.”

E tū has been campaigning for the Living Wage for cleaners. Jacqueline says getting the Living Wage would be a huge help, including for her health.

“Right now, if I get sick, I can’t afford to take the day off or go to the doctor. I had to use up all my sick leave after an accident, so I simply have no choice.

“Getting a decent wage would mean not having to worry about finding the money for a simple day off and a doctor’s visit.”

E tū Director, Sarah Thompson, says OCS and the other cleaning companies need to step up.

“This is such a harsh position from the employer group,” Sarah says.

“It shows that they just don’t value the essential work of cleaners like Jacqueline and thousands of others.”

Sarah says it’s a clear demonstration of why cleaners need a Fair Pay Agreement.

“Right now, we’re getting ready to bargain the very first Fair Pay Agreement for the cleaning industry, which will be the best opportunity in decades to really improve things for this essential workforce.

“The National and ACT parties have promised to scrap Fair Pay Agreements before they even get started. It’s another slap in the face to working people like Jacqueline, and we can’t let that happen.”

Cleaners employed by multiple large cleaning companies will form a picket line today in Auckland as the companies have offered them nothing at all in recent negotiations. The picket will be outside a special general meeting of the Building Service Contractors of New Zealand, the employer association for cleaning companies.

E tū members have been in negotiations for the multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) for commercial cleaners seeking a pay increase to the Living Wage and other improvements to conditions, such as the provision of first-aid kits.

The employer representatives have offered nothing at all – not even the 30c above the minimum wage which has been negotiated in previous terms of the agreement.

The employer parties to the MECA are OCS, ISS, City Cleaning, PPCS, Total Property Services (TPS), Millennium, Kleenrite, Watershed, United Cleaning Services, and Westferry. These companies hold some of the biggest cleaning contracts across both the public and private sector.

“We feel that cleaning companies don’t care about the cleaners, and they don’t respect us,” says Jackie Clark, cleaner at Auckland International Airport.

“Getting no offer is stressful for us. We have whānau to feed, and rent and other bills to pay. It’s also affecting our health physically and mentally, and these cleaning companies don’t care.

“We’re doing this for all the cleaners around the country, because we deserve more.”

E tū Director Sarah Thompson says the zero-offer is a particularly stubborn position.

“Although cleaners have traditionally been paid near the minimum wage, we have usually been able to negotiate some increases above that rate in MECA bargaining,” Sarah says.

“For companies to not budge even one cent above the minimum wage is unprecedented and frankly insulting, especially during a cost-of-living crisis.”

Sarah says the employers’ position is a clear demonstration of the need for a Fair Pay Agreement in the cleaning industry.

“We’ve initiated bargaining for a Fair Pay Agreement for cleaners because our members are sick and tired of being undervalued for so long.

“When employers are committed to offering literally nothing to their own workers, the system is broken. We need to negotiate a Fair Pay Agreement that truly values the essential work of cleaners across Aotearoa, and that’s why E tū will be campaigning to re-elect a Labour-led Government which will keep this vital mechanism in place.”

Our E tū team has been in bargaining on your behalf for your collective agreement, to try and get better pay and conditions for cleaners across Aotearoa New Zealand. Last week the companies told us they are offering us nothing – no pay rise, no better conditions, just nothing.

That’s not good enough.

We are holding meetings over this week and next to discuss our path forward. As E tū members, we know that we don’t win anything without fighting for it, and we will be working together to pressure the cleaning employers into improving their offer.

Our next steps

We will be working on different ways to make progress on our agreement. The E tū cleaners on our bargaining team are extremely disappointed and we have been talking about all options, including things we can do on site, media opportunities, and the possibility of taking further action. Keep an eye out for more info from your union organiser and delegates as this progresses, so you can have your say.

In the meantime, as usual, the best thing to do is encourage all your workmates to join E tū. They can visit www.etu.nz/join to get started today!

Stay tuned for Fair Pay Agreements news

The good news is that we’re nearly ready to start negotiating our Fair Pay Agreement, which will give us a much better opportunity to win much more meaningful increases to cleaners’ pay and conditions. We’ll be sending you more information about this very soon!

Thanks

“Perfect,” “wonderful,” “grateful,” and “awesome,” are just some of the words that Te Whatu Ora members are using to describe how they feel after organising to win for a special shoe voucher, which means they can pick out their own work shoes.

For those working as orderlies and cleaners at the hospital, the change has put a smile on everyone’s faces, an E tū delegate Barbara says.

Members working in these services roles at Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau and Waitematā were previously provided with a pair of shoes by Te Whatu Ora – even though there was a clause in their collective agreement around having a shoe voucher so they could go out and buy their own.

So, when it came to light that many members were resorting to buying their own shoes as they were so uncomfortable, Te Whatu Ora delegates organised a survey to see how widespread the problem was.

After 150 responses to their shoe survey, it became clear that the issue was urgent, and management acted quickly.

Now members have the choice of between five and nine different shoe styles and pay for them using a voucher. They also have the option of spending the remainder of the voucher on socks if there’s anything left over.

Barbara says, “Members are really rapt. It’s put a smile on everyone’s faces – they really appreciate what they’ve got, which is so much better than before.

“Workers do beat the feet a lot during their shifts, especially the orderlies. They’re grateful for the work that’s been done by the union and across the board.”

Members at a New Zealand Post mail processing centre will have nine months to prepare to transition into other work after the company announced the centre will be shutting for good next year.

More than 20 E tū members working at NZ Post’s mail processing centre in Manawatū will lose their jobs when it closes its doors in March 2023.

Members have signed a ‘Just Transition’ agreement with the company, which means they’ll have access to a range of support to assist them in finding other employment, redeploying, or upskilling.

Long-time delegate and worker Michelle Wallace says in the face of declining mail volume workers had known “the writing was on the wall” for a while, but the news is still a shock.

“There are a lot of long-serving members – some have been with Post since they were fresh out of high school.”

Michelle says while the details of the Just Transition process still need to be worked through, having a plan in place is very important to coach members through the change.

“Otherwise, people would be quite lost and distraught, but at least they’ve got options for support.”

E tū negotiation specialist Joe Gallagher says it’s a tough time for the members, with declining mail volume, the rise of online shopping due to the pandemic, and automation all taking a toll and weighing into New Zealand Post’s decision to close the centre.

“We’re living in challenging times. Mail continues to decline at around 22 percent per year, and as a result, New Zealand Post has continued to reposition itself as a logistics business,” he says.

“With all these factors, it’s important that Just Transition processes are put in place that allow members to shift into other industries or into retirement if they prefer, with dignity and respect.”

While the company received $130 million as part of the Government’s Budget in 2020 to maintain and develop future services, Joe says it’s essential to continue to fund Just Transition processes for workers.

“As the economy changes with technology and climate change, we need Just Transition processes that give both businesses and workers the opportunity to move into other lines of trade and work with minimal disruption.

“We believe this will require long-term funding options and that Government involvement is essential.

“Creating and maintaining Decent Work for everyone and supporting those workers at the forefront of change is key to building communities with greater wellbeing.”

ENDS

For more information and comment:
Joe Gallagher, 027 591 0015

A group of essential workers at a South Auckland primary school are now struggling with their future after learning that they face redundancy from a job they’ve given their all to.

Around two weeks ago, the four contracted cleaners at Finlayson Park School, who have been working there for about six years and throughout the COVID-19 crisis, found out their employer’s cleaning contract had not been renewed and had been given to a franchisor instead.

But rather than rehire the existing cleaners, the franchisor has proposed to contract the work to a family-run franchisee.

The cleaners have pleaded with the school’s management to meet with them to hear their concerns.

They want the school to directly employ them at the Living Wage rate to do the job – a cost the Ministry of Education agreed to cover for all directly employed E tū members working as school caretakers, cleaners, and canteen staff back in 2019 – or for the franchisee to employ them to carry on the work.

“The school’s principal and the chairperson of the board of trustees didn’t want to talk to us or even listen to how we feel,” says one cleaner, Siatua Alani.

“We feel really hurt – betrayed, disrespected, and not valued. At least they could acknowledge the good work we have done for the school. It feels like they just don’t care – it feels like we are nothing to them.”

All the cleaners live locally, and many have also had children who have been through the school.

“We always used to go the extra mile as our kids went to school here, and in the past year we’ve been doing our bit to keep the school community safe as essential workers. Then we get treated this way,” says another cleaner, Lika Toleafoa.

“All we want to do is continue cleaning for the school.”

E tū organiser Fala Haulangi says it’s a huge deal for the school cleaners to lose their jobs.

“Although they have been paid for the past week, there has been no work for these cleaners since the Friday before last.

“E tū has basically been told by the incoming franchisor via their consultation document, there will be no work for them in the future as this is carried out by franchisees,” Fala says.

“Living and working locally was a way for these essential, loyal yet low-paid workers to continue to survive financially, as well as having a strong sense of community and working for the greater good.

“The school’s management have control over who they choose to clean the school, and they’ve chosen to go with this franchisor, even though they knew that it would mean their old cleaners would likely lose their jobs.”

Fala says management needs to reconsider its decision, or request that their new contracted franchisee rehire the existing cleaners.

“There is absolutely no reason the school cannot employ the cleaners directly to do the job and at the Living Wage too – an expense that would be funded by the Ministry of Education. We are calling on the school to step up and do the right thing.”

“This situation highlights perfectly why Fair Pay Agreements are crucial to make sure all workers, including contractors, have minimum employment standards and conditions, and to stop employers’ ‘race to the bottom’.

The cleaners’ redundancy consultation ended on Friday 25 June.

ENDS

For more information and comment:
Fala Haulangi, 027 204 6332