
Issue No 40		19 November 1999

News

Round One to the Cleaners

Two thousand school cleaners employed by the Menzies company cut short a three-day strike after winning their key demands in just one day.

The cleaners voted to return to work on Monday 15 November after the employer agreed to stop cutting working hours, at least until 19 February 2000.

In the meantime a Government -backed review, headed by an independent chairperson, will examine all the issues at sites where Menzies is the employer.

The Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (LHMU), which covers the cleaners, expects the review to recognise that the cleaners were 'being asked to do the impossible' by Menzies.

LHMU NSW Secretary Annie Owens said that 'cuts to hours have meant that many of our members are expected to clean a classroom in six minutes and a toilet in less than three minutes.

'The strike has achieved a moratorium on the cuts and convinced the State Government to back this review.'

The resolution to the dispute came after hours of Commission hearings and meetings between the LHMU, Menzies and Public Works Minister Morris Iemma on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 november.

Menzies and two other contract cleaning companies are one year into five-year contracts to clean schools and other NSW Government buildings.

Cleaners have been under increasing pressure since the Greiner Government privatised the Government Cleaning Service in 1994.

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  Issue 40 contents

Interview: No Quick Fix
Online pioneer Marc Belanger explains why the Internet, on its own, will not save the union movement.

Unions: Organising With A Mission
Entries are beginning to trickle in for the Labor Council Organiser of the Year. With just two weeks to deadline, we look at the TWU's nominee.

History: Rhyme and Reason
Poems written by workers provide us with an insight into their experiences and also how they felt about their work and working conditions.

Health: The Food Police
Three times a day you take your life in your hands. How? When you sit down to eat a meal.

Politics: East Timor: Defeat or Victory for the Left?
John Passant's "Requiem for the Left" advances some rather extravagant charges regarding the left and East Timor.

International: Kiwi Unions Rebuild from Ground Up
After fifteen years as a right wing laboratory New Zealand is about to change tack. New NZCTU chief Paul Goulter outlines the challenge ahead.

Satire: Australian Democrats Revealed as Student Hoax
The Chaser has obtained an exclusive background report on the extraordinary story which reveals how and why Cheryl Kernot defected from the Democrats.

Review: The Best of the Best
Once again Channel Nine has out done itself with it’s new Ray Martin program “Simply the Best”.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
View the latest issue of Labour review, our resource for officials and students.

Deface a Face: 25,000 Teachers Can’t Be Wrong!
Angry teachers yesterday voted overwhelmingly for Education minister John Aquilina to take the mantle of this week’s face to deface.

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» Burrow's Plea: Net-Heads Must Take Leadership Role

» Ozemail Downloading Leave Entitlements

» Geeks Claim 400 Per Cent for Millennium Bug Patrol

» Hospital Crisis Looms as Nurses Set Deadline

» Pre-Fab Shelter Wins UN Support in East Timor

» Rail Authorities Back Down on Surveillance.

» Rio Tinto Black List Exposed at Blair Athol

» Needle Stick Fears Spark Industrial Action

» Round One to the Cleaners

» Telstra's Greed Puts Service at Risk

» Tragic Death Leads to Lift in Contractor Safety Standards

» Oldfield in the Pub