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Better wages for cleaners
16th of March 2011As German reporter Thomas Schulte-Marxloh explains, the hourly wage for contract cleaning staff increased at the beginning of this year.
Since January 1 this year the 900,000 employees in the contract cleaning business have been earning higher wages, as Johannes Bungart, managing director of the BIV (German association for the contract cleaning
Travelling in cyberspace
16th of March 2011ECJ's UK correspondent examines how the cleaning industry is making use of the internet.
First a most sincere wish for a happy and successful New Year to everyone. The winter break sometimes leads to a bonanza of news and one or two stories have caught our eye. Tony Blair, a man loved on one continent and reviled in others, was keynote
The profit challenge
16th of March 2011Oleg Popov - general director for cleaning company Cristanval and Russian correspondent for ECJ - takes a look at the level of profitability within the country's cleaning businesses.
How much does a cleaning company earn in today's Russia? Less than it was just three to four years ago. The economic crisis forced customers to take a more
Tackling severe winters
16th of March 2011Tom Crockford reports from Finland on how the severe winter weather takes its toll on towns and cities across Scandinavia.
This past winter has been particularly severe here in Scandinavia. It came early and it hit hard. In a ‘normal’ winter, Helsinki gets on average 100 snow days, while Stockholm has about 90, Oslo 80 and Copenhagen
Victory at EuroSkills
16th of March 2011A report on EuroSkills and the Dutch results is presented by scientific journalist Anton Duisterwinkel, ECJ's correspondent.
A lunch with the Dutch minister for education, appearances on several TV shows and a substantial number of articles in newspapers and in trade magazines. That was the effect of the excellent results the Dutch cleaning team
Focus on the young
16th of March 2011Christian Bouzols in France reports on a series of national meetings aimed at raising awareness of opportunities in the cleaning industry.
Company bosses, teachers, apprenticeship tutors and other interested professionals gathered last month in quite high numbers at the most recent 'Rencontres de la Propreté' that are held every two