Impact Cleaners Grow Tired of Abuses

Political Leaders Push Property Managers to Practice Responsible Contracting

Members of Parliament Olivia Chow and Mario Silva were just two of the faces that could be found in the crowd rallying outside 480 University Ave. today.

The elected officials were there to support members of Justice for Janitors, a cleaners movement united in SEIU Local 2. The group is demanding that property managers that employ Impact Cleaning Services practice responsible contracting.

MP Mario Silva"The law must mandate property managers to hold contractors operating in their buildings accountable. Impact Cleaning must not be allowed to stomp on workers' basic rights," said Chow.

“Cleaners work hard, and the compensation is not all that great. To find out that not even minimum standards are being met is truly outrageous,” echoed Silva. “Something needs to change in this industry, we need better standards.”

MP Olivia ChowEugenia Nagar, formerly employed by Impact, left the company last July because she couldn’t stand “the abuse.” “When I finally left, they decided to not pay me. In fact, it took the help the union and the Ministry of Labour to finally receive compensation,” says Nagar.

Cases like Nagar’s are not at all unusual. There are more cases like hers where workers are paid less than minimum wage, are not covered by WSIB or are not paid at all.

MPP Cheri DiNovoCommunity organizations and politicians have united to demand that building owners adopt the Responsible Property Services Code, recently drafted by a group comprised of building owners, asset managers, as well as worker and community organizations. More information about the Code and responsible contracting can be found here.