ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

The cleaning sector in Europe must move towards more visible/daytime cleaning. That’s the view of Mark Bergfeld at trade union organisation Uni Europa in Brussels. He explains why in this piece by Martin Schuster from CleanManager.

Daytime cleaning is a triple-win: for companies, clients and workers. You just have to look at companies’ ESG reporting. Companies are facing high labour shortages and labour turnover rates. And the cleaning sector counts some of the highest sickness rates of any sector.

Faced with this scenario, how do we stabilise the sector? Companies used to have two options: invest in tech to replace workers or enlarge the pool of labour. While the former cuts even more into the already narrow margins, the latter is increasingly difficult as society is ageing and governments are pursuing anti-immigrant policies.

Daytime cleaning is the solution to stabilise the sector, develop the workforce and unleash sustainable growth. Workers have family-friendly hours which means companies can find staff. Once on the job, site, contract and regional managers can address issues in real-time with the worker and the client. Workers can also access the union. All academic evidence points to the fact unions resolve issues. So people stay on the job.

The European Daytime Cleaning Alliance conference last year was a unique event bringing together more than 50 trade unionists, company representatives, associations, policy-makers, clients and cleaning machine manufacturers. It is rare nowadays to find such broad coalitions. The breadth is of this alliance is something we need to celebrate and nurture. We heard from joint employer-union projects in Norway and Germany, listened to SMEs and MNCs about what they need to make a transition to daytime cleaning a reality.

Breadth of alliance

We are attracting clients - including large cities, universities and government ministries - to participate in our discussions on daytime cleaning. The reason is simple. As industry researcher Helge Alt pointed out: one government department spent €40,000 a month on energy costs for keeping the lights and heating on - just for cleaning.

Now we need the private sector clients to come on board as well. We’re going to push forward with this, but we need the help of many people across different parts of the cleaning sector to help us.  
Our recent report, No Longer Invisible, highlights real progress in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. That’s because money talks. The problem the cleaning sector has in many countries is wages have remained so low that workers have become dependent on overtime pay and night-time premiums to make ends meet. Companies mistake this as a wish for flexibility.

In the Nordic countries, night-time premiums have been made so expensive that clients and companies opt for daytime cleaning. The lesson is: you need strong collective agreements that disincentivise split shifts and night work.

At the same time, cleaning jobs need to be designed as full-time. This has much to do with how societies view feminised services work. Is cleaning about earning a bit extra cash for the family or a breadwinner’s job?

The Nordic countries also teach us that it is about changing the culture. In Denmark, unions and employers speak about visible cleaning. Visible cleaning is a useful concept because it ensures it’s fully integrated into the production and services process. It also brings cleaning out of the shadows. 
If employers are serious about winning better recognition for the sector, it starts with the visibility of cleaners in the workplace, in societies, TV discussions and so forth.

So, what needs to change to ensure visible cleaning becomes standard practice? It’s simple: taxpayers’ money shouldn’t be funding poverty wages and a race to the bottom. Governments have a responsibility to offer decent work, even when they outsource services. They cannot simply hide from their responsibility. After all, poverty-wages are drain on our social systems and lead to old-age poverty, particularly among women.

Governments must start implementing socially responsible public procurement systems, which favour collective agreements, fair working conditions and living wages.

Changing such laws takes some time but every ministry, local or regional government can take one step and conduct a feasibility study to pave the way for a transition to daytime cleaning. This is possible right here and now.  You do not need a decree or legislative change to do that.

Companies need to move towards really promoting daytime cleaning. I know tens of companies who prefer daytime cleaning but when you go on their websites you won’t find a word about it. In companies’ ESG reports, you still won’t find the percentage of workers on daytime contracts. 
The promotion of daytime cleaning isn’t a CSR exercise. It needs to be mainstreamed through the whole organisation. The sales team should be selling daytime cleaning, for example.

Family-centric

Of course, there is a broader social message here. I am a trade unionist. Unions are the only organisation that can bring all workers of different backgrounds, beliefs and identities together to negotiate and bargain collectively with management, in my view.  Deindustrialisation, trickle-down economics and the attacks on the public sector have led to union decline however.

This has had severe consequences for our democracies. Employers shouldn’t be worried about their workers joining a union. Being part of a union can create a strong professional identity and contribute to company loyalty.

If we want stable democratic societies in which everyone gets a piece of the pie, we need to ensure that cleaning jobs become family-sustaining jobs with union rights.

The trade union slogan ‘respect for cleaners’ or ‘justice for janitors’ needs to be filled with life. Daytime and visible cleaning is not a panacea to fully achieve this but one important puzzle piece.  It is a family-centric policy and offers workers the opportunity to be productive members of our societies, engage in democracy, live a fulfilling life outside of work and engage civically, socially, entertain hobbies and activities which contribute to our overall well-being.

Split shifts split lives - night shifts keep us in the dark.