A company awarded a cleaning contract for the Shire of Augusta Margaret River has come under scrutiny after claims from employees of long working hours, extra demands and a lack of days off.
One employee based in the region said there were a number of staff who had not been able to take a day off since mid-December 2018, and had their tasks increased dramatically.
“There have been only two staff cleaning the public toilets, barbecues, picnic tables, the Shire offices and now the Recreation Centre since December 17 and they have been working every day since then, doing a minimum of 11 hours a day but usually closer to 13,” the employee told the Mail.
The employee claimed BrightMark did not advertise locally for the positions, leading to cleaners being sourced from Perth.
“Both were initially expected to do the cleaning in Augusta also and neither were told about the hours they would be working.”
The Shire’s cleaning contract has been under intense community scrutiny after it was announced in October that the contract would be awarded to the Perth-based BrightMark ahead of local tenders. Another Perth-based company, OCE was also awarded the contracts in 2014.
Augusta Margaret River Shire Director Infrastructure Services Markus Botte said the shire took the allegations seriously and would investigate the matter.
“We will also raise this with the company’s managing director during our joint monthly meeting,” Mr Botte said.
“The contractor’s performance is being monitored and assessed regularly.
“So far, the standard of cleaning has been really good, with no public complaints received to this date.”
Mr Botte said BrightMark’s staff were bolstered by a temporary Shire-led crew and that cleaners were sourced from Perth after they were unable to be recruited locally.
“BrightMark mobilised at short-notice and initially employed two cleaners, with initial back-up support provided by a temporary crew managed directly by the Shire,” he said.
“After a short period of time, additional cleaners had been recruited by BrightMark and to our knowledge they currently employ four cleaners working on the Shire’s contract. BrightMark attempted to recruit locally, through a local employment agency, unfortunately without success.”
BrightMark Group was contacted for comment and did not respond in time for publication.
Nicky Lefebvre
I am a journalist, photographer and content creator based in the beautiful Margaret River wine region, covering all aspects of our community including local news, sport, entertainment and events, as well as providing a platform for our readers to share their voices direct from regional Australia.
I am a journalist, photographer and content creator based in the beautiful Margaret River wine region, covering all aspects of our community including local news, sport, entertainment and events, as well as providing a platform for our readers to share their voices direct from regional Australia.
