SYDNEY — Around 70 school cleaners, members of the United Workers Union, and their supporters rallied in pouring rain at Parramatta in west Sydney May 11 to protest low pay and the erosion of their working conditions.
“I’ve been a cleaner for 18 years,” Judith Barber said. “I have seen and experienced ongoing cuts to hours, understaffing and equipment not being replaced or repaired.”
The state government in New South Wales contracts out school cleaning to four companies for 500 million Australian dollars ($335 million) a year, while school cleaners earn as little as AU$24 an hour, just about a dollar above the minimum wage in Australia.
Cleaners have been hit hard by the rising cost of living, with most having to delay medical care, cut back on heating and skip meals, the union reports.
Workers at the rally also scored the high rate of injuries on the job, as contractors impose impossible workloads on them. “We pay the price with our knees, backs and shoulders,” Barber said.
One worker this Militant worker-correspondent spoke to at the rally said he works at several schools to make up his hours. Another worked a split shift — four hours starting at 4:30 a.m., then again in the afternoon. Another pointed to the increased number of tasks he had to do, with his latest schedule allowing two minutes to clean a room.
The United Workers Union is demanding the state government end the contracting out of jobs and resume direct hiring of school cleaners, to help advance organization of the fight for better conditions.