Cleaners win long service rights

Date: 25 November 2010

NSW IR Minister Paul Lynch introduced the Contract Cleaning Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Bill 2010 into Parliament late yesterday.

Minister Lynch said this bill would "eliminate the inequity experienced by thousands of contact cleaners who are unable to access long service leave entitlements through no fault of their own".

"It is not unusual for a worker to clock up a few years' service with an employer only to have their accrued long service leave reset to zero following the expiration of a contract, even if they are re-hired by the new contract holder," Lynch said in Parliament. "They effectively forfeit the time they have already served despite working in the same building or shopping centre, doing the same work for 10 years and often longer."

"The passage of this bill will mean that for the first time, many cleaning workers ... will be able to seek extended respite from the demands of an industry where work schedules are often intense."

LHMU NSW Secretary Mark Boyd welcomed the introduction of the bill into Parliament. "I again congratulate cleaners on their successful lobbying of Ministers and Parliamentarians," he said. "Contract cleaners from schools, commercial buildings and shopping centres worked together to win this outcome."

"The NSW Government must now ensure the bill passes through Parliament before the end of the year to ensure contract cleaners' rights are protected and that the scheme is set up as soon as possible."

For further information

Contact:	Mark Boyd, Secretary
Union:	LHMU NSW
WWW:	http://www.lhmu.org.au/branches/nsw

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