A husband and wife who say they worked 60-hour weeks as cleaners at a council in Melbourne's north have lodged a claim for nearly $500,000 in unpaid wages from their former employer.

Key points: Bill and Jackie Lakovski say they are owed nearly $500,000 in backpay from Australian Environmental Cleaning Services

Bill and Jackie Lakovski say they are owed nearly $500,000 in backpay from Australian Environmental Cleaning Services They have lodged a claim in the Federal Court

They have lodged a claim in the Federal Court The company provides services for Hume City Council, which said it did not need to know about its cleaners' conditions

Bill and Jackie Lakovski lodged the Federal Court claim for alleged unpaid wages and superannuation from Makkim Pty Ltd, which trades as Australian Environmental Cleaning Services (AECS).

They were employed at the company for 12 years, six of which were spent cleaning for the Hume City Council.

"Mentally and physically, I am destroyed," Mrs Lakovski said.

She said she and her husband worked 60 hours a week each — often overnight, with no penalty rates or overtime and no superannuation.

They even had to provide their own equipment, like mops and vacuum cleaners.

"We had to be available for them 24-7," she said.

"Starting 5:30 in the afternoon, finishing 3 o'clock in the morning.

"We never saw the day. We only knew the night — and on the road from site to site to site. That's what we do."

Often, Mrs Lakovksi said, the couple would work as a team to finish the tasks — effectively working for $10 an hour each.

Their adult children grew increasingly concerned.

"What hurt most was just watching my mum go downhill," Jimmy Lakovski said.

"Not being able to just spend time with us, just laying in bed depressed."

His sister, Marija, is furious at their treatment.

"There has not been a thing that my parents have not done for that company," she said.

"They've worked weekends, public holidays … they basically worked more than they were at home."

Council apologises for failing to answer plea for help

The ABC has not received a response from the cleaning contractor they worked for, AECS, nor its parent company, Makkim Pty Ltd.

The company claims to employ more than 450 cleaners, working contracts across Melbourne in corporate and public organisations, large and small.

Jimmy Lakovski claims he stopped getting work because his parents complained about underpayment. ( ABC News: Ben Knight )

Hume City Council is one of them, which is why the Lakovskis approached it for help in May last year.

When they got no response, they emailed council chief executive officer Domenic Isola directly, saying: "The problem we are having with Makkim … is for very much being underpaid in our hourly rate and not being paid on time.

"I don't know if this concerns you but you are our last option for help," the email said.

Again, they got no response.

The ABC asked Mr Isola why the council had not investigated the concerns raised by the Lakovskis about its cleaning contractor.

He said the council did make enquiries into the Lakovskis' concerns at the time, but determined that there was "a larger issue that needs to be resolved between the two parties".

Asked why the Lakovskis were never replied to, he said: "This could have been better communicated to Bill and Jackie Lakovski and we apologise for that."

Hume Mayor Carly Moore declined to comment.

Council 'absolutely' has responsibility to workers

Their case has been taken up by the United Voice Union, which is representing the Lakovskis in court.

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus said it was a clear case of sham contracting, where the Lakovskis were employees in all but name.

"It's not like they were a tradie who could pick and choose their jobs," she said.

"They were told where to go and clean, and what hours to work, and they even wore the uniform. So this is just straight out a company using weak laws in order to exploit people."

She also said the council could not wipe its hands of the matter as the body at the "top of the supply chain".

"I think in any supply chain, the person at the top of the supply chain bears responsibility," she said.

"These councils, along with a whole lot of businesses, have engaged in contracting out, and they'll have people that just look at the cheapest price.

"But if you look at the cheapest price, and you then don't care that workers would earn less than the minimum wage — I think that you absolutely have responsibility."

'Don't take advantage of hardworking people'

The Lakovskis both now work for new employers, and say they are being properly paid.

They lodged a claim in the Federal Court last week for their unpaid wages from Makkim and AECS.

"I want Makkim company to pay me what they stole from us and from our hard work," Mrs Lakovski said.

"I am happy to go to work cleaning.

"But pay me right. Don't steal. Don't take advantage of hardworking people."

The Lakovskis said they were even more horrified when their son Jimmy, who works at the Hume council developing software, was told his contract was not being renewed — on the same day the ABC sent the council questions about his parents' case.

Mr Isola categorically denied any connection and said Jimmy was a "valued member" of the team.

"However, [he] is also on a maximum term contract of employment. In light of the possibility that the employment arrangement may not be extended, his immediate supervisor wanted to ensure he clearly understood this position," he said.