Hospital cleaners go on strike

By JO-MARIE BAKER
Tauranga Hospital's 30 cleaners went on strike today over a pay dispute, saying their employer, Spotless Services, had reneged on a deal they agreed to nine months ago.
The workers are supposed to be getting paid $14.25 an hour but instead say they are receiving $12 _ the new minimum wage which was introduced yesterday.
Before that they received $11.25 an hour. Tauranga's Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) organiser, Christine Grant, said the pay rise was agreed to last year but Spotless had backed out "simply because they didn't do their calculations".
Ms Grant said the hospital workers were responsible for emptying rubbish bins and delivering cups of tea, as well as keeping everything clean.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board communications manager Carol Wollaston said contingency plans by Spotless would ensure all public facilities and clinical areas were cleaned as usual at Tauranga Hospital.
Administration areas would not be covered during the strike. A total of 800 cleaners across the country are taking part in the 24-hour strike, which began at 6am today.
Spotless spokesperson Peter Jennings said the company came to an agreement with the SFWU on new pay rates late last year, backed by an understanding from the DHBs that the Government would fund it.
He said the company had not been given sufficient funds from the DHBs to cover the costs so was not able to pay staff in line with that agreement.
But the DHBs said the hold-up was because Spotless miscalculated its position during contract negotiations.
The DHBs' representative, Craig Climo, said the DHBs regretted that Spotless could not "afford a pay rise for its workers because the contractor miscalculated its financial position" during negotiations with the union.
Last year the Government gave $10 million to lift the pay of low-paid service and food workers in public hospitals, in addition to funding from the DHBs.