Joe Maisano
Organiser
Under the MR4 contract, Metro Trains are obliged to meet a minimum cleaning standard. If this cleaning standard is not met, the company face heavy penalties for this.
The MR4 contract commenced on 1 June 2018, meaning that as of 1 June, if Metro do not abide by these guidelines in the contract, the penalties will be applied.
For the RTBU and its members, there has been no change in the cleaning standards since ISS took over in November of 2017. Since November, the standards of cleaning have been abysmal, and despite numerous letters from the RTBU to Metro and Government, there has still been no improvement in the cleaning, and staff are facing abuse from customers every day due to the lack of hygiene at stations.
The RTBU advises members that station staff are not required to clean stations inside or outside the station as was in the MR3 contract. If any staff members are approached to clean the station, there are only two occasions in which this should occur:
- Being when there is a serious safety hazard that needs to be cleaned ASAP. Eg; broken glass, syringe etc.
- A large piece of paper on the platform is visible as you are entering or exiting the station, you should pick it up.
Under no other circumstances should station staff be asked or forced to do further cleaning.
It has come to light that Metro will be attempting to enforce station staff to clean platforms and stations. If you are being pressured to do further cleaning or you are experiencing any issues around this, please contact myself on 0421 122 437 or the Union Office on 8630 9100.
