Contract cleaning sector: Decent Work Programme

The world of business has over the past years had to take a long hard look at the working environment pertaining to workers. The International Labour Organisation has introduced the concept of “Decent Work” in order to assist employers and workers in understanding what the workplace should encompass. Unfortunately many people ascribe Decent Work merely to a continual increase in wages which can adversely affect the viability of a business. Decent Work is far more than this and it sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives. It involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men. I applaud the CCMA and the Cleaning Sector in taking an initiative to draft a Decent Work Programme to map the way forward. This is both creative, innovative and ground breaking and will certainly become a world best practice.