This year's Golden Toilet Brush goes to...

This year's Golden Toilet Brush goes to...

Cleaners from the Service and Food Workers Union today awarded a Golden Toilet Brush Award to OCS (One Complete Solution), a Trans-National cleaning contractor, who the Union say has scored an own goal by refusing to play fair with their staff negotiations.

"Whereas the World cup's prestigious Golden Shoe award is for outstanding performance by an individual, the Golden Toilet Brush is for awful performance by an employer," says Fala Haulangi, Lead organiser for the Clean Start: Fair Deal for Cleaners campaign run by the Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota (SFWU) and the LHMU in Australia.

"In New Zealand, the Golden Toilet Brush Award for 2010 has gone to Trans-National cleaning firm OCS, who have scored an own goal by using our members as pawns in their own commercial dispute with the District Health Boards," says Fala Haulangi.

"We went to the OCS head office in Auckland unannounced at lunchtime today to present the CEO Kevin Mulcahy with the award. There seemed to be some confusion about whether he was in the office or not, and eventually we were told there was nobody there who could accept it, so we had to leave without presenting it. The cleaners were very disappointed. Although the award is light-hearted, it has a serious message behind it, and the cleaners wanted to be heard."

"Today is International Cleaners Day, when we recognise the hard, and often unrecognised work cleaners do. We celebrate cleaners as individuals, members of communities, mothers, fathers, aunties, uncles, and grandparents. We also highlight problems facing cleaners worldwide by handing out the Golden Toilet Brush Award."

"All over New Zealand, and the rest of the world, more and more work is being contracted out to private companies who provide cleaning and other support services. As these companies compete to win contracts, costs are squeezed to maximise profits, and it's the workers who suffer the most," says Fala Haulangi.

This year's winner OCS says on its website that its business is built on people, and that to attract and retain the best workers they offer fair and competitive reward packages together with a significant range of non-financial benefits. The SFWU says this isn't being reflected in their attitude.

"Unfortunately they have got off-side with our members because they repeatedly refuse to treat them with the respect they deserve, and to do the right thing by them. The DHBs and three of the four cleaning contractors in hospitals have already agreed to give our members a 2% payrise, but OCS is making it conditional on recovering the costs from the DHBs. They are out of step with the rest of the industry, and need to clean up their act!." says Fala Haulangi.

ENDS

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