Heroes of the cleaning industry were given their moment in the spotlight at the inaugural ‘Appreciating U – Our Cleaners’ Awards on 27 June. 36 individuals – cleaners, cleaning supervisors, management staff, members of the public – were recognised for their contriubtions.
Organised by the NTUC U Care Centre and the Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees’ Union (BATU), the awards event built on the momentum of NTUC’s appreciation campaign for cleaners last year. They formally recognised role models in the cleaning industry, and encouraged more people and organisations to show their appreciation to cleaners.
Better Customer Award
One recipient of the award is Indoor Sales Executive, Evelyn Lim, 51, who was recognised for her kindness and consideration towards cleaner, Yeo Ah Moi, 76, who works in the same building. Madam Lim always has a smile for the elderly worker, even offering to help carry the bags of rubbish to the lift when Madam Yeo’s trolley is overloaded.
When Madam Yeo experienced giddiness one morning four years ago, Madam Lim immediately offered to drive her to the nearest clinic. That act of kindness left at deep impression on Madam Yeo. The two have been friends for six years,
often catching up over coffee in the early mornings.
“If no one does the cleaning, we wouldn’t have this environment so we should not take them for granted and learn to appreciate them more,” said Madam Lim.
Better Company Award
The Better Company Award went to Sun City Maintenance Private Limited for going all out to care for their 600 workers.
When the haze worsened last year, the company bought masks for all its cleaners. When the supply of masks ran short in Singapore, the company sourced for and bought them from Malaysia.
The cleaners were also educated on dealing with the haze. They were advised to drink more water, have periodic breaks, and to recognise the symptoms of discomfort.
“Our workforce is our most valuable asset. They are the ones who make the company. Being constantly in the public’s eyes, they are directly and indirectly the ambassadors of our company,” said Marketing Manager, Nigel Ho.
The company has two in-house trainers equipped with the Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA).
“Having our own in-house trainers with our own WSQ (Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications) certified training modules provide us the flexibility to select the training sessions’ timing, location, and number of trainees with minimum interruptions to our daily operations,” added Mr Ho.
Sun City even holds its own ‘Best Cleaner Awards’ based on nominations from its service buyers. One of its service buyers, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), who also supports the ‘Appreciating U’ Awards, also supports Sun City’s annual awards event.
It was MAS that nominated Sun City for the ‘Better Company Award’.
Better Worker Award
Omar Sibli, a cleaner with Horsburgh Integrated Services Pte Ltd, won the Better Worker Award. The 58-year-old wakes up at 4.30am to just to get to work at the Mandai Columbarium because he likes to arrive an hour before his duty starts at 7am. This allows him to clean the area when it is less busy.
To upgrade his skills, Mr Omar took a course to learn how to operate a machine that cleans larger areas so work can be done faster. He even learnt how to maintain the machine on his own. Despite starting out an hour earlier, Mr Omar does not mind staying behind after work to ensure that the machine is in good condition. This has helped his company save in maintenance costs.
Mr Omar is always the first to lend a helping hand to his fellow workers and supervisor.
“I really appreciate my bosses, my supervisor, and all at my company for acknowledging what I do. I feel appreciated. I’m very happy and I’ll continue to look forward to each day to perform my duties with the same passion,” said Mr Omar.
Better Leader Award
“You must be a thinking leader” – this piece of advice from her supervisor helped Misinah Sanojo win the Better Leader Award.
The 58-year-old Team Leader of Ramky Cleantech Services Private Limited have some 15 cleaners deployed to serve 14 washrooms at Changi International Airport’s Terminal 1 under her care.
“The airport is a vibrant place. There are times when there can be many people gathered at one time to send off or receive relatives and friends. At these periods, there is bound to be heavy movement in the washrooms and, as a leader, I have to manage my team members in the best way that I can,” said Madam Misinah.
She recalled an incident during a peak period. She had assigned a new employee to one of the washrooms and had gone to check to see if she was coping well.
“I stepped in and I saw my new team member crying in there. She told me that there were just too many people and that the floor kept getting wet. She didn’t know what to do,” she recalled.
Madam Misinah calmed her down and told her to use a dry mop first and then a wet one later.
“As a leader, I have to learn to listen. I encourage my staff to share their problems with me so that we can find solutions for them together,” said Madam Misinah, who was nominated by her employer for the Better Leader Award.
Original article written by Naseema Banu Maideen and Joshua Joseph, and can be found in NTUC This Week (29 June 2014)
