SFWU Ignores Spotless Concessions and Guarantees

Spotless Services Media Release

16 July 2007

SFWU Ignores Spotless Concessions and Guarantees

Today at mediation the SFWU refused to withdraw its strikes and negotiate the details of an agreement with Spotless, despite Spotless making key concessions and guarantees about wages.

"Spotless has agreed to pass every cent of additional DHB funds onto its staff. Spotless has guaranteed current Spotless staff will receive at least as much as DHB staff and Spotless has agreed to bring its seventeen contracts together into a single national agreement," said Spotless Services National HR Operations Manager, Peter Jennings.

"Our starting position for bargaining is that Spotless staff will receive the same base rate, penal rates and overtime rates as paid by the DHBs will be paid to all current Spotless staff, with the opportunity for some to receive more."

"Despite these concessions and guarantees, the SFWU has taken its members out on strike before bargaining has even begun. We can only hope the SFWU is communicating these wage guarantees to its members."

"We came to mediation hopeful of achieving a withdrawal of both the strikes and lockout notices so that bargaining could get underway. Unfortunately, the SFWU was not prepared to withdraw its strikes. As we emphasised to the union in mediation, we are ready to start bargaining tomorrow if the strikes are withdrawn."

"Unfortunately, the union refuses to contemplate our desire to discuss a simple, targeted link between pay and competencies for new employees and senior staff - which we believe is very important for developing skills and leadership qualities and improving health sector productivity."

"The SFWU claims Spotless is blocking a national employment agreement. There is no such agreement. The union spent months negotiating an employment agreement with the DHBs. Spotless was not involved in those negotiations."

"We have 2000 staff across many hospital sites in New Zealand. We need to negotiate our own agreement and we have a legal right to do so. We believe initiatives to lift skills and leadership qualities are important to our business, our staff and the health sector. We are not going to forego the right to discuss these initiatives in bargaining," said Jennings.

Jennings reiterated that the lock out notices had only been issued - for health and safety reasons - in response to the SFWU's rolling strike notices. The SFWU rolling strikes are set to continue for at least two weeks with each individual strike taking 55 minutes in every hour - but with the strikers intending to return to their jobs for the residual five minutes in every hour.

"Spotless could not guarantee adequate health and safety standards with the risks of patients being abandoned on their trolley half way to theatre, uncooked food and cleaning equipment lying about the corridors," said Jennings.

ENDS

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