Refugee wins May Day award

Date: 29 April 2005

A Chilean refugee, who works as a cleaner at the Calvary Hospital in Canberra, has won Unions ACT's May Day award recognising the significant contribution he has made to improving the lives of working people in the national capital.

Time: 7.30pm

Date: Friday , 29 April, 2005

Place: New Shanghai Restaurant, Woolly St, Dickson

Carlos will be given the award tonight at the Unions ACT May Day Dinner held at the New Shanghai Restaurant in Dickson.

This Code delivers principled, high health standards, environmentally sound and ethical contracting practices, which are regularly audited, to clients who choose to tender with signatories.

" Carlos' win for Canberra workers is especially poignant because his job is in an industry which is dominated by low-paid women and new arrivals to Australia," Lyndal Ryan, LHMU Cleaners Union ACT Assistant Secretary said.

" Carlos and his family came here to get a better life - because working people and their unions were repressed in Chile.

" By his actions here in Canberra he has not only improved his own family's life - but helped every other working Canberran - whether they were born in this country or are recent arrivals," Lyndal Ryan said.

" He has helped unions in the ACT re-inforce the Australian ethos of a Fair Go by underlining the right to decency and respect in the workplace."

" It was a three year long campaign but the significant turning point in the campaign came when Carlos organised our union members at Calvary Hospital to demand management hand the cleaning contract only to a company who was a Code signatory.

" In December 2004, extraordinarily, the Catholic hospital management turned down this request from low-paid workers concerned about their security.

" We pointed out to them that this was a contradiction of the message of Christmas which was just days away.

" Despite the hardship which our low-paid members would suffer before Christmas Carlos was able to rally the cleaners and supported all of them during the first ever industrial stoppage at the hospital.

" He managed the strike and ensured that it was effective in a short time, especially in a health environment where cleanliness was primary," Lyndal Ryan said.

"Throughout the dispute Carlos garnered support from other union members, the community - including the Little Sisters of Mary - and kept up regular liaison with management."

After 3 days the dispute was won. Calvary Hospital agreed to only tender to Code cleaning contractors and today we have broad acceptance of the Code throughout the ACT.

For further info:

Carlos Pavez, LHMU Cleaners Union Branch Council and union delegate,

04172 284 079

Lyndal Ryan, ACT LHMU Cleaners Union Assistant Secretary,

0411 643 982

Linda Francis, Unions ACT President

0438 200 093

For further information

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

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