Cleaning Companies need accreditation for government contracts

Cleaning companies tendering for the government contracts will have to get accredited under the voluntary Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme. 

Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said this will take effect from April next year. 

Cleaning companies will, from next month, also have to fulfil more criteria if they want to get accredited under this scheme. 

The move is part of efforts to raise the overall standards and professionalism of the cleaning industry. 

They include implementing a progressive wage model as recommended by the Labour movement, paying salaries through GIRO, and appointing a productivity manager to improve work processes. 

Mr Milton Ng, Director of Ramky Cleantech Services, says that while the current accreditation scheme has resulted in more skilled workers, having to meet the enhanced criteria will have its own challenges. 

"I think the major challenges we face is the tight labour market. As much as we want to train the workers, there's insufficient time and shortages so we have to take staff out for training which sometimes is a bit difficult. It's not impossible to achieve but from an industry viewpoint if all the companies strive to do that, it will make this industry what I call a 'recession-free' industry, for people to continue to join this industry, to find a good and decent paying job."