Cleaning Staff: Clean Forgotten?

Finally some fine journalistic reporting but rather lengthy notes from Safety & Health Practioner Magazine:

The people who clean our workplaces make our working lives easier and more pleasant but, laments Dr Chris Ide, precious little attention is paid to the many work-related hazards and risks they face. For a long time, cleaners tended to be typecast as Mrs Mop, whose catchphrase “Can I do you now, sir?’ Cleaning is generally regarded as a task carried out by women. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) tells us that, of the 537,000 employed in cleaning, almost 84 per cent are female, and about 70 per cent are part-time. Men sometimes undertake cleaning duties as well, but tend to be employed as window and street-cleaners, or refuse collectors. According to the LFS, the 61,000 involved in these three tasks are exclusively male and almost entirely full-time employees, although there is a substantial proportion of self-employment among window cleaners. Alternatively, or additionally, cleaning materials may be used to improve the appearance of the surface or object by making it smell more pleasant, disinfecting it, or giving it a shine. The combination of the environment or location that needs to be cleaned, and the chemicals, tools and techniques used to carry this out can present to the cleaning workers involved a wide variety of hazards, which need to be assessed by those who deploy the staff. The cleaners themselves must also receive appropriate training to ensure they understand the nature of these hazards, and the steps they need to take to protect themselves. The plethora of mops, brushes and brooms used by many cleaners can place heavy static loads on their bones and joints, and force them to adopt awkward postures. This, in turn, may give rise to low-back and neck pain and other musculoskeletal disorders, such as work-related upper limb disorders, affecting the shoulders, elbows and wrists, particularly if the task involves lengthy periods of frequent repetitive movements and/or hard gripping, squeezing, or wringing. During the six years or so during which data was collected, the annual incidence of contact dermatitis was 12.9 per 100,000 workers. As well as being more common in young women, it also appeared to hit more men as they got older. About 13 per cent were due to soaps and cleaning agents, and 11 per cent to wet work. A lot of window cleaners seem to be abandoning ladders for water-filled poles, which enable the worker to remain with their feet on the ground. Others use cherry-pickers, aerial ladder platforms, and scissor lifts to help them meet the requirements of the Working at Height Regulations. However, technological sophistication comes at a price – the need for proper training, and maintenance of the equipment. This applies just as much to traditional equipment – ladders should not have broken rungs, for example. Appropriate, comfortable clothing is also a ‘must’, particularly for those who are working outdoors in cold and/or wet weather. Lone-working is also an issue. As previously mentioned, cleaners often go about their work while other employees are at home, i.e. during the night, or early mornings. Thus they often have to work with little or no heating, ventilation, or air conditioning, which is usually turned down or off outside ‘normal’ working hours. In addition, cleaners often work in very small groups or even alone, and so are more vulnerable to harassment. Since cleaning is regarded as a rather lowly job, which is relatively poorly paid, it often recruits those with low levels of educational attainment. Immigrants also form a large proportion of the cleaning community. Consequently, employers must give particular thought to organising appropriate training, covering such things as safe working techniques. There is the danger that such workers can lull themselves into a false sense of security, since they are working with supplies that may resemble those used in their own homes, only to be put into harm’s way because larger quantities have to be used, or the materials are at “industrial-strength”.