Religious and community leaders will join hundreds of cleaners from across Australia and New Zealand on April 20, 2006, to help launch the Clean Start – Fair Deal for Cleaners campaign.
Where to join a rally in the ten-city launch of the Clean Start campaign
Already committed to joining with the cleaners for the start of this campaign are:
Bishop Patrick Power of the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn; Sister Libby Rogerson, a Loreto sister currently working as the Coordinator of Social Justice and Director of Caritas in the Diocese of Parramatta; Theo Mackaay, Exec Director, West Australian Anglican Social Responsibilities Commission; the captain of the Canberra Raiders, Clinton Schifcofske; Big Brother TV star, Tim Brunero and NZ Idol TV star Rosita Vai
The Clean Start: Fair Deal for Cleaners campaign aims to provide a voice to the low-waged largely immigrant female workforce, in cities across Australia and New Zealand, who are calling on big property owners to support decency in their workplaces.
Global campaign to win decent pay rates and conditions
Cleaners all around the world are in a precarious position with low paid and casual work the result of employers competing against each other on the price of labour.
Increasingly cleaners in disparate cities find they are employed by the same global contract cleaning firms, who tender for work from a handful of global giants – often big financial institutions – who make big profits from the huge commercial office blocks that we clean, in cities around the world.
That’s why cleaners are joining their voices together to campaign to win decent pay rates and conditions worldwide.
In particular the LHMU are working closely with our sister union in New Zealand, the Service and Food Workers Union, with the cleaners union in Great Britain, the T&G and with the SEIU in the United States.
Cleaners in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany are all mobilising and have pledged their support for the Australian and New Zealand effort.
We want the chance to bargain for good jobs capable of providing us and our famlies with a decent standard of living. We are asking the people in our various communities, migrant networks, religious communities, human rights and interest groups, women’s organisations to work in partnership with cleaners and their unions on this campaign.
This is a significant campaign and one that aims to have a real impact on the lives of low paid, predominantly women, workers and the lives of their families. We need your help and your feedback, and the support of the community as a whole to ensure our campaign is a success.
Clean Start – Fair Deal for Cleaners is the Australian and New Zealand part of a worldwide campaign. We have launch meetings happening in cities all over Australia and New Zealand, and support events happening elsewhere on April 20th – so come along to the meeting closest to you and be a part of it.
For more information, visit the LHMU website:
http://lhmu.org.au/lhmu/campaigns/Clean_Start/
