Challenges in property cleaning services

Many businesses outsource cleaning to reduce labour costs and administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on their core operations and strategic goals. Outsourcing cleaning also provides access to specialized expertise and equipment, ensuring a higher quality of service and increased efficiency. Because cleaning is not part of a business's core operations, this service is often overlooked when undertaking due diligence processes. This lack of oversight, combined with the following systemic issues that puts property services and the cleaning industry in a vulnerable situation.

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Key risks include:

- Informal or precarious low-wage employment - Many cleaners work on temporary, or zero-hours contracts, lacking job security and benefits, making workers more vulnerable to exploitation.

- Lack of unionization and collective bargaining - Cleaners may not have access to union representation, making it harder to negotiate better wages and working conditions.

- Isolation and invisibility: Cleaners often work alone or in isolated areas, making it difficult to report abuse or exploitation.

- Language barriers and migration status: Migrant cleaners may face language barriers, fear deportation, or have uncertain immigration status, making them more susceptible to exploitation.

- Unregulated industries and lack of enforcement: Some cleaning industries or agencies may operate with minimal regulation or oversight, allowing exploitation to go unchecked.

- Power imbalance: Cleaners may feel powerless against employers or agencies, making it difficult to speak out against exploitation.

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Sector-wide initiatives, such as, the Cleaning Accountability Framework, who we recently co-panelled with Diginex and the Office of NSW Anti-Slavery Commission, are helpful in addressing key risks by requiring business to: make responsible procurement and ongoing management of supply chains the norm; give workers a voice and agency in improving workplace conditions; and demonstrate the value of an improved work environment.

Complementary to initiatives, technologies such as diginexAPPRISE can help workers to speak out, which in turn supports overcoming isolation, language barriers, and power imbalances. This tool can support businesses, consortiums, trade unions and civil society organisations to understand the conditions of work experiences by workers to advocate for reforms.

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