SINGAPORE - A total of 1,001 cleaning businesses, with a workforce of 52,000 cleaners, have been licensed by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
The majority of the cleaning sector comprises small businesses, with 50 or fewer cleaners. Despite their relatively small size, these cleaning businesses have successfully met the licensing conditions, NEA said on Monday. This includes sending at least half of their cleaners for training and paying their cleaners progressive wages.
To date, about 33,000 cleaners from licensed businesses have been trained, higher than the 50 per cent requirement for the first year under the new licensing regime.
From today, licensed companies will need to pay their resident cleaners wages according to the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for those deployed under new cleaning contracts entered into on, or after April 1.
Over 26,000 resident cleaners in licensed cleaning businesses are currently being paid wages according to the PWM. By September 1 next year, licensed companies will have to pay progressive wages to all their resident cleaners including those under existing cleaning contracts.
Since April this year, NEA has been actively engaging all cleaning businesses that have applied, to have them complete their submissions in support of their licence applications, so as to facilitate the issuance of the licences by September 1. So far, all cleaning businesses that applied have successfully obtained their licences.
Support for cleaning businesses
At the point of renewing their licences in the subsequent year, cleaning businesses are required to ensure that 100 per cent of their cleaners are trained.
In order to ensure that resident cleaners have access to the relevant training required under the cleaning business licensing regime, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) has set aside an additional $8.9 million over the next two years to keep training costs affordable.
Cleaning companies have the option of flexible and accessible on-site and bite-sized training offered by WDA's appointed training partners, to help them overcome their operational constraints in sending their employees for training.
Cleaning businesses can tap on WDA's course fee support to train local cleaners in Environmental Cleaning Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) to help boost the overall standards and capabilities of the cleaning industry.
NEA's Director-General for the Environmental Public Health Division, Mr Derek Ho, said: "We are pleased that more than 1,000 cleaning businesses have come onboard and are supportive of the cleaning licensing regime. We believe this will translate to better performing workers and more satisfied service buyers through enhanced service quality and higher standards."
All 56 unionised cleaning companies under the Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees' Union (BATU) have attained their licences from NEA. An estimated 20,000 out of the 23,000 resident cleaners employed by these 56 companies are currently being paid wages according to the PWM.
Cleaning businesses will not be allowed to operate without a valid licence. Similarly, service buyers will face penalties if found engaging unlicensed cleaning businesses.
- See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/more-1000-cleaning-firms-licensed#sthash.557g1iVk.dpuf
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