‘A normal person would be horrified’: School cleaners call for end to privatised contracts

The NSW government has quietly kicked off a review of the half-a-billion dollar private contracts under which school cleaners say they’re overworked, underpaid and injured “horrifically” often.

School cleaners at a Sydney high school. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Exclusive: School cleaners are demanding the NSW government de-privatise their contracts as their union claims the profession faces a shocking injury rate which would “horrify” parents and students.

The United Workers’ Union has handed the Minns government a report containing some of the most severe cases of overwork and workplace injury sustained by its members, as a promised review of school cleaning contracts quietly gets underway.

The union’s national co-ordinator for the sector Linda Revill says the injury rate is “appalling” and parents would be shocked by the frequency of sprained ankles, broken wrists and back injuries sustained by cleaners.

“They’re right up there with tree loppers, concrete workers and brick layers,” she said.

“A normal person would be horrified to think that somebody cleaning a school would have such high injury rate.”

School cleaners (L-R) Mitchell Elliott, Ferdie Dorner and Mary are fronting the United Workers’ Union’s campaign to end the privatisation of cleaning contracts. Picture: Julian Andrews

More than a third of cleaners surveyed in the report said they had been injured in the past five years, reporting broken wrists, falls from stairs, fractured ankles and ribs, shoulder tears, chemical burns and electrocution.

According to the union, NSW public school cleaners have the fifth highest rate for workers’ compensation in NSW, on par with log sawmillers, with premiums twice the rate of their non-government counterparts, and Ms Revill laid blame with the tight time frames and short-staffing cleaners endure.

“They’ve got about 17 seconds to clean a toilet; they haven’t got enough time in the day to do it all, so they’re rushing,” she said.

“We’ve had reports of cleaners literally running from one room to another to try to get their work done in time.”

In the new report, the union says an estimated 7,000 cleaners are currently employed under “fundamentally broken” whole-of-government contracts, held by four private companies and worth half a billion dollars.

The privatised model, they say, has led to fewer staff and worse pay and conditions for cleaners, while allowing the companies to profit off taxpayers.

School cleaners and the United Workers Union protesting outside then-premier Dominic Perrottet’s office ahead of the 2023 NSW election. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Ferdi Dorner has been cleaning the same primary school in southwest Sydney for 34 years, and said prior to privatisation he shared the workload with seven full-time colleagues.

Now with astroturf laid over the concrete, a new school hall built and more demountable classrooms, there’s more work to be done and only two-and-a-half employees to do it, he said.

Southwest Sydney cleaner Ferdie Dorner says the growing workload is dangerous. Picture: Julian Andrews

“I’ve had shoulder strains, I’ve sprained my ankle countless times,” Mr Dorner said.

A female co-worker recently broke her ankle falling down the stairs because she was “trying to rush around”, he said.

“In the old days, when we used to have many people to do multiple jobs, you had plenty of time to do your work well and do your work safely,” the cleaner said.

Western Sydney part-time primary school cleaner Mitch Elliott also said he’s got more to clean, without any extra time to do it.

“The workload is ever increasing, due to multiple factors – the ever-increasing class sizes, and there’s lots more equipment and furniture in a modern classroom,” he said.

Mitch says under the private contracts, cleaners like himself have more to do and less time to do it. Picture: Julian Andrews

“It’s a Sisyphean effort nearly every day just to get these teaching spaces ready for teachers and students.”

The state government’s review of the “benefits and challenges” of contracting arrangements for school cleaning services, chaired by parliamentary secretary for education Greg Warren, kicked off this week behind closed doors.

According to its terms of reference, it will “consider (the) views of students, parents, staff, workers and suppliers in respect to the school cleaning model”, and investigate whether cleaning services meet the needs of their school community in terms of “flexibility, cost and value of money”.

A spokesman for Education Minister Prue Car said the government is working towards a better deal for cleaners and the rest of the school community.

“The previous government’s addiction to privatisation led to a situation where profits always came before those who work, teach and learn in our schools,” he said.

“We look forward to working constructively with [The United Workers Union] to ensure cleaning services at our schools are reliable, high quality and safe for workers.”

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