ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A new report released in the UK has called for better acknowledgement and support for cleaning and hygiene sector workers from the Government.

The report, which is backed by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), the British Cleaning Council (BCC) and 22 organisations from across the industry, identified two priority recommendations in order to ensure lessons are learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, and measures are quickly put in place to effectively fight communicable infections in future.

It reflects the opinions of an industry roundtable meeting which included a wide range of representatives from the cleaning, hygiene and waste sector - including trade associations and businesses - along with public health and behavioural insight experts.

The report's first recommendation was that a dedicated government department or agency - such as the UK Health Security Agency - is needed to work in partnership with industry to implement necessary preparedness and cultural changes.

The second recommendation was that cleaning and hygiene staff must be acknowledged and appropriately supported by government, trained, accredited and both culturally and socially accepted. Cleaning and hygiene staff are the key conduit through which hygiene practices are delivered into facilities, it noted.

The roundtable meeting also backed last year's report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Cleaning and Hygiene Industry, entitled Embedding Effective Hygiene for a Resilient UK, which followed an inquiry into the role of cleaning and hygiene, and the associated challenges, during the pandemic.

The APPG report made 11 recommendations aimed at putting cleaning and hygiene at the top of the national agenda, thereby making the UK much more resilient to current common infections such as flu and also better prepared for future public health emergencies like the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chairman of the BCC Jim Melvin, said: "This report recommends two key, priority measures that will help ensure the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic are learnt, protecting public health and saving lives in the future.

"Recognising the key, frontline and vital role of the cleaning and hygiene sector staff and a good working relationship between the Government and our industry will help ensure the public is healthier, happier and safer going forward, with increased social acceptance of our teams' professionalism and better cultural awareness of the industry.

"The cleaning, hygiene and waste industry along with experts in public health have come together to speak with one voice on this issue. We need and require to be heard.

"But if the Government continues to see cleaning and hygiene as a cultural after-thought, as it did before the Covid-19 pandemic, they are arguably leaving the health of the public at risk."

CEO of the RSPH William Roberts added: "Cleaning and hygiene operatives are an essential part of the wider public health workforce, which is why there needs to be improved recognition of their role and greater support from government.

"The recommendations in this report set out a way to ensure cleaning and hygiene operatives are better acknowledged as a profession, and are able to use their collective expertise to support government and to make us all safer."

Chairman of the Cleaning & Support Services Association (CSSA) Paul Ashton, said: "The report in itself is progress but what happens next is most important.

"Integration of technology in the modern cleaning solution is an intrinsic part of how we increase social acceptance of cleaning and hygiene to create recognition of our frontline staff. Innovation is readily available, more so than ever before, but the Government's refusal to recognise our industry is limiting acceptance and consequently risking lives.

"To enable positive change we owe it to our frontline staff and businesses within our industry to access levy-funded training that we have all been paying into for years. Training and development is identified as a key action within the report, when public health is the key outcome - not enabling our industry is playing Russian roulette with society.

"We have the potential to be the global leader in cleaning and hygiene, so it's about time the Government acknowledged the phenomenal work of our industry and simply provided the platform to progress.

"We'll keep doing the hard work as we always have done but with genuine recognition, we can maximise the opportunities that technology create, improve productivity and ultimately create a cleaner, safer United Kingdom."