McCallums Hill Public School Cleaning Contract

About this Item
Speakers - Davoren Mr Westby; Machin Ms Wendy
Business - Private Members Statements

McCALLUMS HILL PUBLIC SCHOOL CLEANING CONTRACT

Mr DAVOREN (Lakemba) [5.47]: I wish to refer to cleaning services at McCallums Hill Public School. I have received correspondence in relation to the matter and a copy of the letter was sent to the Minister for Administrative Services and the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, the Director-General of School Education and a number of other people. After reading this letter I felt it was worthy of some investigation, and I shall release the results to the House. At the outset I emphasise that no complaint is made about the cleaners per se. They do a magnificent job. Indeed, many of the cleaners live nearby, come in early and leave late, without increased remuneration, because they have an interest in the school. Since the contract has been assumed by Berkeley Challenge Pty Limited the time allocated for cleaning the school has been cut to 50 hours per week. This may seem to be more than enough time, but the standard of cleaning required for that school is equal, at its highest, to that required for a hospital, and, at its lowest, to that required for a bank.

The school, unlike most which are single multistorey buildings, is composed of a large number of separate single-storey buildings, and cleaners lose time moving from building to building. Much vandalism occurs in the general area of the school. For that reason school cleaners are required, on entering a building, to close doors to ensure security. As only 50 hours have been allocated for cleaning, the cleaning company has decided that cleaners should work individually. That decision presented a security problem. A conference was arranged between Ken Cope - the Berkeley Challenge branch manager with responsibility for that area - and some of the staff. Mr Cope realised there were problems but pointed out that he had a job to do. He said that Berkeley Challenge had quoted for the jobs, though the quote was lower than it should have been as it was based on an overall estimate for a number of schools rather than individual schools.

The Berkeley Challenge principals had a responsibility to their shareholders to show a profit. The school had cut the number of cleaning hours from 60 to 50 but in a fit of munificence agreed to extend cleaning time by 24 minutes a day. I calculate that to be 120 minutes extra a week, which bring total cleaning hours to 52 a week. The school could decide
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to employ more cleaners, but that would bring greater responsibilities and increased costs. Those extra costs would take the school over its budget, and it could not afford that. Last Friday an inspection was conducted by Berkeley Challenge supervisors. The scuttlebutt was that cleaning time would be reduced and that the 24 minutes extra a day might disappear, with extra time coming out of the allocated 50 hours a week. It is all very well for the Government to stand back, beat its chest and say it is saving X millions of dollars, but money should not be saved at the expense of children and teachers. [Time expired.]

Ms MACHIN (Port Macquarie - Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister Assisting the Minister for Roads, and Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport) [5.52]: The honourable member for Lakemba said that correspondence has been widely circulated, including to the Chief Secretary and Minister for Administrative Services, the Minister responsible. I am sure the Minister will respond.

Mr Davoren: There has been no response to date. I invited her to come down and see what is happening.

Ms MACHIN: I do not know whether the Minister was notified.

Mr Davoren: She was. I am very polite and protocol wise.

Ms MACHIN: Though the Minister is busy, I will certainly convey the honourable member's information to her and draw the matter to her attention. The honourable member for Lakemba is polite, and I realise that he is aware of protocol, so I am not surprised that he has told the Minister. The honourable member in his contribution spoke about the industrial environment but I did not hear him comment on how well the school is cleaned. Surely cleanliness is the real issue. If the Government is getting efficiencies out of the cleaning service, that can only benefit taxpayers. To date such benefits have been significant and look like being part and parcel of a continuing success. I note what the honourable member has said. I assure him that the Chief Secretary will be made aware of his concerns at the earliest opportunity as soon as she returns.

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