NSW: Illawarra cleaners accpet majority offer union

AAP General News (Australia)
04-12-2000
NSW: Illawarra cleaners accpet majority offer union

SYDNEY, April 12 AAP - Cleaners in the New South Wales Illawarra region agreed to return
to work today after forcing TAFE colleges and schools in the region to close.

School principals concerned about hygiene began advising students to stay at home on
Monday after cleaners refused to accept a peace offer over plans to cut working hours.

About 700 in the region remained on strike after rejecting the offer by Menzies Property
Services.

Some 2,000 cleaners across the state walked off the job on Friday to protest against
plans by Menzies to give staff less than six minutes to clean a school classroom.

The Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (LHMWU) said Sydney cleaners
voted to return to work on Monday but workers in the Illawarra had voted to remain on
strike until this morning.

Union state secretary Annie Owens said during a stopwork meeting this morning the Illawarra
workers were forced to accept a majority vote in favour of the new deal.

NSW Public Works Minister Morris Iemma told parliament today the resolution of the
dispute meant the government had saved $150 million over the life of the contract.

Under the revised offer, Menzies had agreed to changes on a site by site basis. Work
hours would not be cut by more than 3 per cent a year over the remaining four years of
the contract.

Ms Owens said the Illawarra cleaners had resisted the offer because they had already
undergone massive cuts to work hours.

The Illawarra cleaners' extended strike action had forced the closure of Wollongong,
West Wollongong and Shellharbour TAFE campuses because they could not provide clean facilities.

School principals in the Wollongong area were also forced to send letters home advising
that they were unable to guarantee hygienic toilets as a result of the dispute.

The workers had imposed bans at 1,100 government sites, leaving police stations, court
houses, public and high schools uncleaned for four days.

AAP nd/sb/lw/

KEYWORD: CLEANERS (CARRIED EARLIER)

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