Tanya Maksimora, is SIPTU organiser with the Fair Deal for Cleaners Campaign stands on O'Connell Street in Dublin campaigning for better working conditions for cleaners.

Image: Photocall Ireland

INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE DAY for Cleaners has been marked worldwide since 1990. If you didn’t know why it exists, you’re about to find out….

The events date back to 15 June 1990, when a group of janitors in Los Angeles were beaten by police during a peaceful demonstration against their contractor. The resulting public outrage led to the contractor agreeing to allow the workers to unionise.

Today the day was marked by Ireland’s Fair Deal for Cleaners campaign with a protest outside the offices of the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation in response to pay cuts for low income workers like cleaners, restaurant workers and security staff.

Contract cleaner Mary McBride was among those taking part today:

Life is getting harder for cleaners. What’s happening on the ground is that hours are being reduced, pay is being cut, the workload is being increased and often we don’t have enough time or the right materials to do the job properly.

We want to build a better life for ourselves and for our families. We are prepared to work hard in our jobs and to work unsocial hours to do it, but we want to be treated fairly.

In February the Registered Employment Agreement was established as a forum for negotiations for the contract cleaning sector.

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