Victorian public school cleaners potentially working without background checks
HUNDREDS of cleaners are potentially working in Victorian public schools without background checks, putting children at risk. And more than 80 per cent are being underpaid.
HUNDREDS of cleaners are potentially working in Victorian public schools without background checks, putting children at risk.
The revelation is one of the findings in a five-month investigation uncovering a major wages scandal centred on the state’s education department.
Government school cleaners are being underpaid at least $10 million, according to a United Voice union survey.
More than 80 per cent are being paid under the award’s minimum wage.
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One cleaner said she was paid $2.63 an hour cash in hand for her first week of work.
Many cleaners are migrants and afraid to speak up for fear of reprisal from contractors.
The survey — which covered 299 of the state’s 4000 cleaners, revealed almost 7 per cent didn’t have a working with children check, required by law, couldn’t answer the question or didn’t know what it was. This is despite the government tightening rules as part of its response to a royal commission into child abuse.
A cleaner told the Herald Sun he had been working in a primary school for more than a year without the check.
“I’m not a risk to children, but say you have criminals on the job and they are not getting check-ups on these people to work with children, then you are definitely putting children at risk,” he said.
United Voice state secretary Jess Walsh said the situation was as bad as the 7-Eleven underpayment scandal and “right under the nose of the Victorian government”.
“Hundreds of fly-by-night contractors have free rein to steal wages from some of Victoria’s lowest paid workers, and use fear and intimidation to silence them,” she said.
“The system is broken. The Andrews government had 2 ½ years to clean up this mess.”
The findings include:
UNDERPAYMENT is rife and 81 per cent of cleaners reported wages below the award’s minimum wage, while 32 per cent were not paid for all hours worked;
ALMOST 18 per cent of schools have “sham contracting” arrangements, meaning companies hired workers as contractors on a flat rate, with no sick or annual leave; and
MORE than a quarter said shifts were not long enough to properly clean schools.
Lorraine Bird, who has cleaned schools for 17 years, said the industry was poorly regulated and the number of contractors should be reduced in line with other states.
A Pakistani migrant from Pakistan said he was paid $15 an hour, resulting in underpayments of $14,000.
Education Minister James Merlino said contractors and employees must provide evidence of checks and schools must regularly ensure the requirement was being met.
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