New England school cleaners rally

Date: 12 August 2004

School cleaners from towns and villages across New England are joining the state-wide rolling stoppages campaign on Friday (August 13).

The school cleaners from around 200 sites, including Armidale, Glen Innes, Gunnedah, Inverell, Nsrrabri and Wee Waa are catching buses to Tamworth where they will join a regional rally at the Bicentennial Park to show they won't cower under Bob Carr's plan to attack their jobs.

" We want to inform the community and teachers of Bob Carr's campaign to attack the jobs of nearly 7000 cleaners," Annie Owens, NSW LHMU Cleaners Union Secretary, said.

" Union members in New England will be warning parents and teachers that once the school cleaners jobs are attacked parents will be asked to turn up and volunteer to clean classroom windows and playgrounds.

" Bob Carr doesn't just want your taxes to help his Budget, he now wants parents and teachers to volunteer their labour to help stretch the State Budget."

School cleaners from the Tamworth area will take part in the morning pickets and afterwards join the New England-wide rally in the Bicentennial Park .

Rural and regional school cleaners will find it very tough to get other work

" I love the job. I've worked at the schools 1o years, because I think the students and the teachers are worth it. It's a job that I've put my heart into," Colin says.

Colin says he regards his work as the most important job in the world - looking after the health and hygiene of students and teachers.

" The changes to the contracts from next year will either mean I do not have a job or I'll have my hours cut back so badly that I'll lose almost all of my wages."

Many of the cleaners are older women who in the rural and regional parts of NSW already find it hard to get decent jobs.

" They've got little hope of finding other employment if Bob Carr goes ahead with this plan. I didn't believe in my wildest dreams they'd do things like this to rural workers who already have trouble with job security," Colin said.

"People work their whole life, work decently and honestly and hard and then this happens - and it comes from a Labor government which is meant to be on the side of working people."

The LHMU proudly represents around 130,000 hard working women and men throughout Australia.

For more info:

Annie Owens, NSW LHMU Cleaners Union State Secretary, 8204 7204 or 0425 214 881

Carmel Cook, LHMU Regional Secretary, 0425 214 844

Steve Klaassen, Regional Organiser LHMU Cleaners Union 6650 0642 or 0425 214 854

Colin Southwell, LHMU School Cleaners Union member, Tamworth 67617012 or 0419 742 176

For further information

Contact:	Andrew Casey
Union:	Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union
Phone:	8204 7206
Fax:	92821 4480
Email:	andrewc@lhmu.org.au
WWW:	http://www.lhmu.org.au/

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