Cleaners left in limbo after contract change at Auckland Transport sites

Cleaners at Auckland Transport sites are fearing the worst for their accrued leave entitlements, as their previous employer MMS is refusing to transfer these entitlements to their new employer.

After MMS lost its contract to provide cleaning services for Auckland Transport sites to City Cleaning, cleaners’ pay and conditions should have been transferred to the new contractor under Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act. This provision in New Zealand law protects certain workers in industries like cleaning, ensuring they can transfer to new employers with the same terms and conditions of employment when contracts change hands.

However, MMS did not transfer all the cleaners’ leave entitlements, including accrued annual leave and service leave, to City Cleaning in a timely manner. Cleaners soon noticed their leave balances were missing from their payslips.

E tū reached out to both MMS and City Cleaning for clarification. Initially, MMS assured E tū that these entitlements would be transferred to City Cleaning, but they have since stopped responding to communications from both E tū and City Cleaning, despite repeated follow-ups. City Cleaning even escalated the issue to Auckland Transport, the client, but there has still been no resolution.

Recent reports suggest that MMS may be facing liquidation, with a court hearing scheduled in Wellington on 12 November. In the meantime, MMS continues to operate, including providing services for Auckland Transport, leaving cleaners in a state of uncertainty about their leave entitlements.

E tū member and cleaner Caroline Masalu says the workers feel completely let down.

“We are devastated to learn MMS might be going out of business without passing our leave entitlements to our new employer,” Caroline says.

“They promised us that they would pass our leave to the new contractor. This is hard-earned leave after years of work. To hear that we might not get it back is upsetting for all of us. We worked hard, we were loyal, and now this is how they repay us?

“MMS must do the right thing and pay out our hard-earned leave.”

E tū Director Georgie Dansey says the ordeal undermines the importance of Part 6A.

“Part 6A ensures that vulnerable workers can transfer between employers without losing their pay and conditions if an employer changes,” Georgie says.

“E tū members fought hard for the introduction of Part 6A to avoid a race to the bottom for pay and conditions. It’s completely unacceptable that the company refuses to communicate with our members about this. MMS must do right by the workers, it’s as simple as that.”