By Kim Ball
Strong words plus a clear and proactive mission were part of the mix for the official launch of the Cleaning Council WA (CCWA) late last month. About 100 industry members, allied industry representatives and CCWA members attended the launch at the Perth Zoo.
CCWA has evolved from its origins as the Master Cleaners Guild in 1969 and its alignment with the Building Service Contractor’s Association of Australia as that body’s WA Division in 2004.
The CCWA launch signifies new beginnings for the WA cleaning industry. The name provides a clear picture about the target community, its tag line ‘Local Focus – National Strength’ is a bold statement and its goal is to become the ‘go to authority’ for matters relating to cleaning in WA.
CCWAs’ mission is to create a fair and competitive local market where members, regardless of size, receive a fair price and clients receive the best possible service. CCWA is the cleaning industry voice to Government and the private sector. It also provides a forum for all those involved in the WA Cleaning Industry to present their goods and services.
CCWA president Shannon Daniels spoke strongly about priority areas of focus in line with CCWA’s vision and mission.
“CCWA believes it is in the long term interests of the industry’s workforce, and its ability to attract and retain suitable cleaning staff in the medium to long term that all workers receive, at a minimum, the rates of pay and entitlements owed to them under legislation, like long service leave entitlements,” Daniels emphasised.
“CCWA does not support the use of sham or bogus sub-contracting within the WA cleaning industry and believes it is not the role of efficient government to be involved in the day to day delivery of facility services including cleaning.
“CCWA in partnership with the WA Government will ensure training is part of the cleaning industry best practice. To do this we will aggressively source providers of industry specific and work based training in WA. We believe it is imperative for the sustainability of the industry’s labour force and the quality of service delivered to the community.”