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Interesting times start
15th of September 2010Oleg Popov, director general of Russian cleaning company Cristanval, offers ECJ an exclusive overview of the cleaning market.
Just 10 years ago cleaning services were considered as luxury ones. Then the demand for the service grew tremendously as many commercial buildings - specially shopping centres - were erected throughout Russia.
The first
Certification scheme
15th of June 2010News on a programme to tackle undeclared working from Tom Crockford.
Undeclared and untaxed work is a problem throughout Europe, but perhaps especially so in Scandinavia where social benefits are generous and taxes are high. The temptation to take unemployment support whilst working ‘on the side’ is very real. Different countries are
How to lift the industry?
15th of June 2010For far too long, the cleaning industry has been at the bottom of the pile in terms of social acceptance, writes ECJ's UK correspondent. What can be done to change this?
We accept that, as forecast, FM companies have begun to dominate the major account areas for contract cleaners. It was once said of the larger contractors: “They used to be
Cleaners' strike record
15th of June 2010Correspondent Anton Duisterwinkel discusses a long strike by cleaning staff - highly unusual in The Netherlands.
Striking is seen as a last resort in The Netherlands. It is bad for economics and bad for the image of an industry. More importantly, it goes against the grain of Dutch society. At the heart of Dutch culture is the opposite of
A sustainable formula?
15th of June 2010From Italy, reporter Anna Garbagna looks ahead to a round table discussion on sustainable cleaning later this month in Milan.
The round table event is being organised by AfidampFAB (Italian Association of Manufacturers, Equipment, Machines and Products for the professional cleaning sector) with the scientific co-ordination of Legambiente and
Clean public transport
15th of June 2010ECJ correspondent Thomas Schulte-Marxloh on an initiative designed to improve cleanliness on the public transport system.
Cleanliness is a prerequisite, not only for public transport. Unfortunately, cleanliness is a service most people only notice when it is missing.
The ‘Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe’ (KVB) is one of the major
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