Late at night and early in the morning an army of almost a million people descend on London to clean the workplaces and offices of the capital. They are generally unseen, paid very low wages and many are working illegal. This documentary looks at this massive industry, the conditions that people work in and the attempts to raise the lot of the cleaning staff.
In 1995 I moved to England from Northern Ireland and to support my studies I took a job cleaning a supermarket from 0600-0900 on weekdays getting paid £2.30 an hour, so it was with interest that I tuned in to this documentary. The last time I worked as a cleaner was 1999 and I was happy with my conditions at the time but, looking back it was hard work for very little money and I doubt that I had it as bad as the majority because I was directly employed. This film looks into the industry in London and presents a picture of exploitation, low wages and an industry that has managed to avoid the legal requirements that are considered standard elsewhere. I was not aware of this stuff and the film did well to focus on a couple of cleaners and show what it is like, using interviews and contributions to explain and show the issues.
In a way it is sad because it is the sort of job that everyone ignores and nobody wants to do and it is unlikely that anyone in Government will move to help improve their lot. This documentary is engaging and worthy viewing but it offers nothing in the way of solutions of answers because it needs a political will that simply isn't there at the moment but a good film nonetheless.
In 1995 I moved to England from Northern Ireland and to support my studies I took a job cleaning a supermarket from 0600-0900 on weekdays getting paid £2.30 an hour, so it was with interest that I tuned in to this documentary. The last time I worked as a cleaner was 1999 and I was happy with my conditions at the time but, looking back it was hard work for very little money and I doubt that I had it as bad as the majority because I was directly employed. This film looks into the industry in London and presents a picture of exploitation, low wages and an industry that has managed to avoid the legal requirements that are considered standard elsewhere. I was not aware of this stuff and the film did well to focus on a couple of cleaners and show what it is like, using interviews and contributions to explain and show the issues.
In a way it is sad because it is the sort of job that everyone ignores and nobody wants to do and it is unlikely that anyone in Government will move to help improve their lot. This documentary is engaging and worthy viewing but it offers nothing in the way of solutions of answers because it needs a political will that simply isn't there at the moment but a good film nonetheless.