The unionized cleaners who service Vancouver's Waterfront Centre and Pacific Centre are rallying today (October 2) to protest layoff notices they received last month, saying they were told their $12.65 per hour jobs were too expensive.
The 150 workers, who are represented by Unifor Local 3000, were told in early September that they would be losing their jobs by the end of October.
"Some of our members have been cleaning these buildings for decades and they earn wages that are already sub-standard in a city like Vancouver," said Unifor western director Scott Doherty.
"To say that a $12.65 an hour job is not economically viable is just simply outrageous."
The cleaners were told that their employer, Servantage – which currently holds the cleaning contract for the two properties – would not have its cleaning contract renewed, but that service was not an issue.
"Cadillac Fairview is playing one contractor against another by demanding lower costs, without any consideration that their actions are driving workers deeper into poverty," said Unifor British Columbia Area Director Gavin McGarrigle.
"For savings that amount to just pennies per square foot, these vulnerable workers are forced to reapply for their own jobs under a new contractor paying them only $10.50 per hour."
Cadillac Fairview has confirmed that as of November 1, 2013, Servantage will no longer be providing cleaning services for the properties in question.
"As per standard Cadillac Fairview practice, as the end of our five-year contract with Servantage was drawing near, we went to market and conducted a request for proposal (RFP) for cleaning services," the property management company said in a statement.
"The search for a new firm was conducted in a fair and transparent manner; we received proposals from fully qualified firms, including one from Servantage, and after a thorough and rigorous evaluation, we made the decision to award the contract to new providers that could best meet our needs moving forward."
The protest is scheduled to be held in front of the Olympic Torch and Waterfront Centre at 3:00 p.m.
