8 June 2007

Hospital settlement at risk after Spotless jumps ship

The settlement of the long running hospital service workers dispute looks doubtful after a major employer broke away from national bargaining says the Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota Inc.

"This week's mediation had seen real progress being made towards a settlement," says SFWU spokesperson Alastair Duncan.

"However the announcement by Spotless Services that they have initiated for a separate collective agreement rips the heart out of the national pay talks,"

Yesterday Spotless announced that they were seeking an entirely separate agreement.

"As the largest employer, with over one third of the three thousand workers in the sector, Spotless' actions fly in the face of logic and are illegal.

"For nine months Spotless has sat the bargaining table. Now they have jumped ship and compromised the chance of a national settlement."

Alastair Duncan says Spotless and three other contractors, ISS, Compass and OCS had contested the right of the union to bind them into a national agreement and that the issue was currently awaiting a decision of the Employment Court.

"Spotless' action cuts across the court process, jeopardizes any national settlement and could inflame further industrial action."

Alastair Duncan says Spotless tried to take credit for a union initiative that secured $10 million additional for low paid workers and is integral to the national agreement.

"Considering that Spotless pays some of the worst wages in the sector it is a bit rich for them to be trying to take credit for wage rises that are dependant on a national settlement."

Alastair Duncan says the District Health Boards and other contractors were not consulted by Spotless and that this raises issues of good faith.

Despite Spotless' actions and in an effort to make progress the SFWU has lifted all industrial action through to midnight Monday June 18th.

ENDS

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