Who Cleans up? The Declining Earnings Position of Cleaners in Australia

Abstract

Neoliberal policies of industrial relations decentralisation and privatisation have transformed the economic landscape of Australia in the last 20 years. The primary objective of these policies has been to enhance wealth and prosperity by improving productivity and flexibility of the workforce and competition and accountability in the market. Yet the evidence suggests that precarious workers are not benefiting from this increased prosperity, indeed they suffer by comparison with all other workers. Cleaners are a subset of precarious workers who have been hard hit by the dual impacts of labour market decentralisation and privatisation. This study finds quantitative evidence of an increasing gap in earnings between cleaners and other workers inAustralia since the onset of workplace relations decentralisation and the proliferation of privatisation in the mid 1990s. We locate our argument in recent debates about the nature of variegated neoliberalism, the emergence of the networked economy, and the implications of these developments for the nature of work and employment.

The monitoring and enforcement of labour standards when services are contracted out

“…Since then many non-core services, such as cleaning, have been outsourced by governments (Holley and Rainnie, 2012;Ranald and Black, 2000;Sullivan, 1997;Yeatman, 1997;Young, 2007). One way governments can provide economic incentives to induce companies to protect vulnerable workers is by including labour standards clauses in procurement contracts for services (Arrowsmith and Kunzlik, 2009;Brammer and Walker, 2009;Howe, 2010;Howe and Landau, 2009;Howse, 1993;McCrudden, 2007).…”

“…As part of a central push for more individually- and less collectively-based employment relationships, contracting out came to prominence in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s (Bray and Macneil, 2011; Cooper and Ellem, 2011; Dabscheck, 2001; Fairbrother et al., 2002; Lee, 2006). Since then many non-core services, such as cleaning, have been outsourced by governments (Holley and Rainnie, 2012; Ranald and Black, 2000; Sullivan, 1997; Yeatman, 1997; Young, 2007). One way governments can provide economic incentives to induce companies to protect vulnerable workers is by including labour standards clauses in procurement contracts for services (Arrowsmith and Kunzlik, 2009; Brammer and Walker, 2009; Howe, 2010; Howe and Landau, 2009; Howse, 1993; McCrudden, 2007).…”

Mécanismes économiques expliquant les bas salaires dans les services à la personne

“…Les agentes de nettoyage et les femmes de chambres sont particulièrement exposées à l'externalisation : 60 % des nettoyeuses relèvent de la branche de la propreté, tandis que les autres sont salariées d'entreprises conservant leurs agentes d'entretien en interne mais dépendant de branches diverses. Or, le recours à la sous-traitance se traduit par une dégradation nette des conditions d'emploi pour les salariées, tant en France (abasabanye et al, 2016 ; deVetter, steinauer, 2018) qu'à l'étranger (holley, rainnie, 2012 ;GriMshaw et al, 2014).…”

Government procurement contracts and minimum labour standards enforcement: Rhetoric, duplication and distraction?

“…Ryan’s (2007) doctoral research focused on the employment relations and workplace organisation of cleaners contracted-out by the NSW private sector. Holley and Rainnie (2012) uncovered the rising income disparities between cleaners and other employees in Australia, related to the proliferation of contracting-out. Campbell and Peeters (2008) conducted research into the labour standards and working conditions of cleaners contracted-out by the private sector in Victoria.…”