Outraged cleaners continue AXA demos

Date: 19 April 2001

19 April, 2001

The image of AXA Australia as a worker friendly organisation, with close links to the leaderships of Australia's union movement, is taking a battering as their unionised cleaning staff have now been locked out of AXA's Melbourne head office for nearly three weeks.

The LHMU cleaners are particularly disturbed that their superannuation fund, the $3 billion Australian Retirement Fund, is a partner in a joint venture with AXA to set up a workers' bank - Members Equity.

" AXA is earning millions of dollars off the backs of working people's super funds but they want to get rid of nine LHMU cleaners and save $200,000 in cleaning costs," Vaska Dervisovski, the LHMU Cleaners Union organiser said today.

" The bean counters should revisit this decision."

LHMU Cleaners Union members will again be out the front of the AXA head office, 447 Collins St, Melbourne this morning, from 11.30 am, protesting the decision to shut out cleaners and cut the numbers of cleaning staff.

This is the second time this year that AXA Australia has been embroiled in an industrial dispute with the LHMU.

The property arm of AXA last year sold the upmarket Sydney Wentworth Hotel and as part of the sale price agreed to sack twenty LHMU members.

In February, after vigorous protest and community outrage that workers jobs should be sold as a condition of the $108 million Wentworth Hotel sale, AXA backed down.

" We believe union members will also be outraged by this latest AXA action and we expect that the company will see the error of its ways and back down again," Vaska Dervisovski said today.

" We are appealing to union members, activists and supporters to send letters and e-mails to AXA to tell them that if they want to use union members' money through the superannuation funds then they should have a better attitude to the employment of union workers.

" AXA is a major owner and operator of commercial properties throughout Australia where LHMU members are employed.

" We think the company should adopt a code of practice which is friendly to all our members."

AXA fully owns about 300,000 square metres of key commercial properties throughout Australia.

AXA Australia is part of the big French multinational finance group.

Already AXA union members in France have been approached to discuss appropriate international solidarity support.

The LHMU proudly represents more than 150,000 hard working women and men throughout Australia.

For further info:

Vaska Dervisovski, LHMU Cleaners Union

0425 755 913 or 03 9235 7634

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