A fair go for cleaners
Last Friday, the cleaners union organised a protest at Darling Park to highlight the workplace conditions usually faced by cleaners. According to union figures, the average yearly wage of a cleaner in Australia is around $8 000, while the national poverty level wage is $15 000. Cost cutting is evident across the industry, with cleaners saying that they’ve been told to tear sponges in half to double on equipment, and use the same mops for toilets as for other areas. But one of the most controversial topics are the shorter shift hours. Friday’s protest was part of an Australia-wide push to improve employment for cleaners. The campaign comes at the same time as the new Industrial Relations laws, which cleaners feel will only worsen their employment situation.