Domestic workers begin two-day strike

Press, 26 March 1986, Page 9

Domestic workers begin two-day strike

Boarders at Christchurch schools could have more than their homework to do this evening — they may have to do the cleaning normally done by striking domestic workers.

Boarding school domestic workers held a stopwork meeting yesterday and voted to strike for 48 hours in support of their wage demand for $6.33 an hour. - Talks on the workers’ national award were adjourned in Dunedin two weeks ago. Ms Lianne

Dalziell, a Hotel Workers’ j Union organiser, said the ■ union claim for parity : with school cleaners had i been rejected. A worker who cleaned . i a school hostel got $5.13 i an hour, but a worker i cleaning a classroom got i $6.83 an hour, she said. i The union claim had been reduced to $6.33 an j hour provided the em- ’ ployers acknowledged the i claim for parity and a i commitment to achieving 1 it in the future. J The employers had < refused to negotiate their <

offer of $6 and were unwilling to refer the matter to the Arbitration Court, Ms Dalziell said. The strike, which began at 4 p.m. yesterday, had not had any effect to last evening, said Mr Ernest Eddington, the bursar at Christ’s College. The college employs 36 part-time domestic workers in its kitchen and for cleaning. The kitchen manager would probably take over the cooking, but .the boys would have to clean up after meals and clean the houses, he said.