Britannia Premium Cleaning Statement On Unite Pay Dispute
Britannia Premium Cleaning has issued a statement in response to recent press releases issued by Unite, and what it calls “inaccurate social media comments.”
A statement set out the following clarifications: “Firstly, it is important to state that the dispute concerns 14 employees out of the 162 employed by the company.
“These 14 employees work in housing estates doing internal cleaning of corridors, stairwells etc. This work is mainly done by traditional hand brushing and bucket mopping and is known locally as 'El Turno'. The company understands that Britannia employees are paid the same as other workers in the industry carrying out the same type of work. They also enjoy good working conditions. The Company makes an additional contribution of 10% of their wages towards a Pension Scheme to those who have opted for the scheme. The company receives almost daily applications from persons who are interested to work as internal estate cleaners.
“The company wishes to highlight that it is wrong for it to be stated that the internal estate cleaners are being discriminated against based on gender given that there are both male and female employees carrying out the same work of internal estate cleaner and being paid the same. It is very important to note that Britannia, since 5th May 2019, has had male employees carrying out the same work as female employees for the same pay.
“The employees in dispute wish to be paid the same as other employees who can be repositioned at short notice to work in areas, including, but not limited to: (a) removal of accumulation in estates and all around Gibraltar such as boilers, fridges, and other heavy and bulky items; (b) attending to oil or paint spillages (a serious oil spill happened recently and was widely reported in the press and made safe in a matter of hours); (c) salt water flushing; (d) removal of debris and rocks; (e) removal of seaweed and rocks at public beaches/leisure areas; (f) cleaning of bin rooms; and (g) assisting recycling operators (h) weeding and removal of overgrown areas etc. Most of this work is carried out in unsheltered areas.
On Tuesday 21st December 2021, Britannia received a proposal from Unite whereby independent experts evaluation would assess the value of the two roles explained above and also carry out an independent pay audit. Britannia has agreed to this, even though it completely rejects the accusation that the company discriminates against anyone, and, as a gesture of goodwill, offered to pay the 14 employees in dispute the wages for the week they had not worked bearing in mind we are approaching the Christmas holidays.
“Britannia hope that in light of the above, the 14 employees will return to work in accordance with their employment contract. We regret that the 14 employees refused to agree to this and have decided to continue with industrial action and not return to work.
“We hope that they will reconsider so that we can move forward with the Independent reviews.
“We wish to state that Britannia is an equal opportunities company that employs workers of different genders, sexual orientations, race, colour and religious beliefs. Britannia would never discriminate against anyone. We are particularly proud to have assisted local authorities in providing employment opportunities for young individuals."
