‘We clean this city while you sleep’

“Hey Melbourne, listen up! The cleaners are standing up!” About 100 cleaners and unionists rallied to defend penalty rates on 15 June, International Justice Day for Cleaners. After gathering at Victorian Trades Hall in Carlton, they marched on the offices of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in East Melbourne. ACCI has been one of the loudest industry voices arguing for cuts to night, weekend and public holiday penalty rates. One worker carried a hand written placard reading: “We clean this city while you sleep. Don’t cut our pay.”

The rally was called by United Voice – which represents cleaning workers – and supported by other unions including the Maritime Union of Australia, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Electrical Union, National Union of Workers and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation.

Red Flag’s Shail Shah asked people what they thought about the attack on penalty rates.

Margarita

“Getting penalty rates means I can pay my mortgage, it means I can help send my kids to school. Losing them means cutting my basic needs.”

Tom

“The extra money I get represents the time I give up to go to work, time spent away from my family and friends.”

Gamal

“Penalty rates usually equal about $220 a week. At 52 weeks in a year, people will lose over $10,000 a year, about a quarter of someone’s wage. How are we supposed to live?”

Alexia

“I don’t think the employers will hire any extra people with the money they save. I think they just want to increase how much profit they make, how much goes into their pocket.”