Cleaners who had their hours slashed by their new employer will take their case to the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Service and Food Workers Union national secretary John Ryall says cleaning company OCS won the contract to clean Massey University's Palmerston North and Wellington campuses in 2010.
"As soon as OCS took over the contract they slashed the cleaners' hours," he said.
"They gave the cleaners notice that their working hours would be reduced to 27 a week and their working year cut to 31 weeks."
When the cleaners, through the union, tried to negotiate redundancy entitlements, they were sacked by OCS and only reinstated when they signed up to the new hours of work.
The Employment Court supported the cleaners' claim that they had a right to negotiate redundancy entitlements, but this didn't hold up in the Court of Appeal.
"The Supreme Court case is very important, not just for the Massey University cleaners, but for vulnerable workers throughout New Zealand," Mr Ryall said.
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