The Preventing harm to Cleaning Workers Report Terry N Taylor Head - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Preventing harm to Cleaning Workers Report Terry N Taylor Head of Working Environment Information Unit EU-OSHA

The Cleaning Sector - Facts  Cleaning is carried out in every w orkplace  The cleaning industry is a grow ing sector  I t is increasingly being put out to tender  The sector is dom inated by sm all businesses, m any of w hich em ploy few er than 1 0 w orkers.  Cleaning is an essential task, and w hen done w ell can reduce both risks to w orkers’ safety and health and costs to the business

Three big challenges to safe and healthy cleaning 1 . Contracting out -> strong cost-cutting pressures on cleaning com panies o inadequate investm ent in training and other m anagem ent o activities essential for w orker protection. 2 . As labour costs tend to m ake up the largest part of the costs of a cleaning com pany, there is a risk that unscrupulous em ployers w ill seek to gain an unfair advantage in tendering processes by illegal em ploym ent practices Eg. not paying full social insurance costs or em ploying o illegal labour. 3 . A poor perception of cleaning and cleaning w orkers can discourage the effective occupational safety and health m anagem ent of cleaning services. Eg. failing to provide appropriate equipm ent and training o because the em ployer does not view the task as im portant.

Com m on hazards, risks and health outcom es  Risk of slips, trips, and falls, particularly during ‘w et w ork’  Risk of m usculoskeletal disorders, for exam ple from carrying loads or doing repetitive w ork  Exposure to dangerous substances contained in cleaning agents  Exposure to hazardous substances being cleaned, w hich can include biological hazards such as m oulds or hum an biological w astes  Psychosocial issues including w ork-related stress, violence, and bullying  Risks, such as electric shock, from w ork equipm ent

Com m on w ork-related health disorders recognised in cleaners include:  I njuries from slips, trips and falls  Musculoskeletal disorders  W ork-related stress, anxiety and sleeping disorders  Skin diseases such as contact derm atitis and eczem a  Respiratory disorders including asthm a, and  Cardiovascular diseases

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