Cleaners of government buildings will be spared a 20 per cent pay cut after the Abbott government backed down on an element of its red tape bonfire.
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On Thursday, the government agreed to retain guidelines that ensure government cleaners get paid a minimum $22.02 an hour.
The base private sector wage for cleaners is $17.49 - a rate the union United Voice describes as ''poverty level'', more than $170 less a week.
The guidelines, which protect thousands of cleaners, put upward pressure on the rate that private contractors will pay, the union said.
The government agreed to a Labor amendment to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2014 to retain the guidelines.
David O'Byrne, acting national secretary of United Voice said: ''Cleaners were appalled when the government announced … the Commonwealth Cleaning Services Guidelines were included in the almost 10,000 regulations the government was repealing because they were allegedly counter-productive.
''The guidelines ensure companies that provide cleaning services for the Government must ensure their cleaners are properly paid.''