Spotless Stands Firm On Lock Out

22 February 2001

Strike notices for three days out of a planned seven by Wellington Hospital cleaners have been withdrawn, but fed up employer Spotless Services says its retaliatory Lock Out notice will go ahead, after mediation talks deadlocked today.

Spotless Services had made the decision not to lift its retaliatory lockout notice as it needed to provide certainty of service and this could only be achieved with a predictable, managed workforce.

Company spokesperson Yvonne Treen said that both sides had worked extraordinarily hard to reach a settlement but there were a very small number of outstanding matters that were proving hard to get agreement on. The sticking point in negotiations now centres on when a redundancy payment would be triggered and the maximum payment that would apply. There is no redundancy provision within the existing contract.

"These issues are of vital importance to both sides. Lifting either the strike or the lockout achieves very little in terms of actually reaching a settlement" said Treen. "We will continue to work as hard as ever on a mediated settlement but have decided that after nearly four months of negotiation, enough is enough."

The company had sufficient trained cleaners and management to run the contract and it stands by its commitment to maintain cleaning standards at the hospitals involved. (Wellington, Kenepuru , Porirua and Paraparaumu.)

For more information please contact Yvonne Treen, Spotless Services Ltd

Tel: 09 526 3624 or 021 650 023.

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