Dirty deal for school cleaners
UNDERPAID, unchecked for criminal records and exploited — all under the nose of the Victorian Government.
UNDERPAID, unchecked for criminal records and exploited — all under the nose of the Victorian Government.
This is the dirty state of affairs uncovered among 1750 cleaning contracts let to some dodgy operators cleaning the state’s public schools.
Vulnerable migrant cleaners are being exploited with wages as low as $2.63 to $6.07 an hour, while a shocking 81 per cent reported they were paid under the award minimum wage.
This army of cleaners also includes 7 per cent — probably hundreds of workers — who are routinely accessing schools without the compulsory Working with Children check to help ensure the safety of young students.
No doubt there are reputable cleaning companies carrying out work at government schools, but the Andrews Government and the Department of Education have failed comprehensively in their oversight and regulation to police the sector and root out rogue operators.
With such wide variances in wages, often cash in hand and not subject to tax, superannuation, sick pay and other entitlement requirements, some companies are creaming serious money off a system that has allowed them to hire workers at slave rates.
The scandal, the size of which is shaping up to rival that of the 7-Eleven debacle, is particularly concerning because it has festered in the government-run school sector.
Dodgy contractors have been cutting corners, with instances of diluted detergents, potentially unsafe electrical equipment including vacuums and, most seriously, illegal rates of pay. Commercial cleaning is a difficult, labour-intensive job and those employed in the sector deserve every cent under the award. Of course, as in other industries that employ large numbers of migrant workers who may have language difficulties or don’t understand their rights, unscrupulous employers often threaten either dismissal or the spectre of a complaint to immigration officials.
The Andrews Government and the Department of Education appear to have been wilfully blind at worst or negligent at best in their failure to ensure contracting arrangements comply with the law.
And it’s not as if there was not some notice given to authorities about the need for greater oversight.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse highlighted the need for universal criminal checks at schools.
Although the state government tightened some rules, it has obviously not acted extensively enough.
Industry union United Voice surveyed 7.5 per cent of the cleaning workforce to assess the abusive levels of wage theft and poor conditions.
Clearly, all 1750 state school contracts and the 738 cleaning companies in the sector must now be immediately reviewed to ensure wage and good character compliance.
One concerning factor, given the level of migrant workers, is the accuracy and accessibility of criminal records from overseas jurisdictions.
Those employers found to have abused the system and underpaid workers must lose contracts and the Fair Work Commission needs to be engaged to compensate dudded cleaners. Australian workplace law demands fair pay for a fair day’s work.
As United Voice sets out, the Andrews Government needs to adopt the NSW model, which slashes contract numbers to several providers competing for regional contracts to allow effective oversight.
BOUNDARY LINE CALLS
THE old adage that the boundary line is a backman’s best friend no longer applies in the modern game. The deliberate out-of-bounds rule has meant contested balls remain in play for longer, particularly in attacking halves, which can make for higher-scoring games and fewer stoppages.
Tougher interpretation of the rule from last season delivered the AFL’s bid for fewer stoppages and throw-ins.
During the 2016 season, umpires averaged 1.5 deliberate-out-of-bounds free kicks per game, an increase of nearly 1 per game on the 2015 average.
The end result saw the average number of throw-ins during each match drop from 42.4 in 2015 to just 34.3 in the 2016 season.
Obviously, that’s more game time, greater competition, more chance to score and less pack congestion at throw-ins.
But any direction for less tolerance on what is assessed by umpires as deliberate may have led to a heavier-than-necessary bias when balls head for the boundary.
As we saw last Saturday in the Richmond-Western Bulldogs game, Tiger Jayden Short wasn’t given any benefit of doubt and the resulting free helped the Dogs retain the lead and victory.
Like all rules, it’s an issue of interpretation. The standard of AFL umpiring is, on the whole, exceptional in such a fast-paced game. But the Short decision is not the first where, under pressure and without clear possession, players and teams are penalised.
The AFL should retain the rule but ensure deliberate acts are overt or more clearly intended
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