positivelypublic

Cairns workers rally against contracting out agenda

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School cleaners and janitor-groundsmen from schools in Cairns and the surrounding area will be rallying this Wednesday, 23 April, to protest the state government’s plans to contract out cleaning and maintenance in new state schools.

The workers will meet outside Woree State High School, Ridge Street, Woree, beginning at 11:15 am.

Members of the cleaners’ union, the LHMU, have joined together with the union for schools officers, the QPSU, in the ‘positively public’ campaign against contracting out in schools.

Workers are concerned that the plan to contract out under a “public-private partnership" (PPP) arrangement will lead to lower quality and dirty, unsafe schools, and that it could extend to affect vital government services in regional areas.

QPSU General Secretary, Alex Scott, said that contracting out in schools in NSW, WA and Victoria had affected quality.

“We know that this plan has been a disaster not only for the pay and jobs of schools workers in New South Wales, but also for cleanliness and safety”, Mr Scott said.

“There is no excuse for the government to run down regional services through second rate PPP plans that cost jobs, hurt the community, and trash standards”, he said.

This rally follows on from last Thursday’s rally outside Parliament House in Brisbane, where around 2000 workers gathered to send Anna Bligh the message that public schooling should not be out for tender.

Campaign events are continuing statewide.