The employees of the Faculty of Science stand firmly behind their cleaners. More than five hundred of them have signed a letter expressing their support. They write that the workload has become too high.

532 names are listed under a letter that employees of the Faculty of Science (FNWI) have sent to Radboud Services director Gerben Smit. In the letter, they express their support for the cleaners at their faculty, who complain about high workloads and a lack of social safety.

‘In some places, cleaners haven’t come for weeks.’

The letter comes in the wake of a petition that the cleaners presented to Smit last week. In it, they criticize the increased workload since the faculty’s cleaning service is now managed by an external company, Asito. As a result, toilets are cleaned less frequently, trash bins are emptied less frequently, and there is also less time for cleaning the labs. Furthermore, the relationship with their supervisor is problematic, according to the cleaners.

Overflowing containers

The 532 researchers, teachers, and other users of the Huygens building endorse all the concerns of the cleaners in their support letter. They mention that there were rarely complaints about cleaning in the past, but since the transition to Asito, the quality has deteriorated. ‘A dirty basement with overflowing containers, dirty toilets, constantly running out of toilet paper (…) and places where cleaners sometimes haven’t come for weeks.’

They also express frustration about increased bureaucracy. When departments want to request something from the cleaners, that now has to be done digitally. Another significant concern is the lack of clarity and communication about how labs should be cleaned, which is essential for the safety of both experiments and cleaners.

Arm sling

The letter writers are also concerned about the leadership style. ‘Boundaries of social safety are being crossed.’ Supervisors allegedly do not listen enough to the cleaners and ‘intimidate’ them to come to work even when they are sick.

‘Oiling door hinges with one hand is going to be a mess.’

‘A while back, there was a sick cleaner here with her arm in a sling. She was told she still had to show up for work,’ says Wilma Philipse, study advisor in chemistry. ‘She was supposed to oil the door hinges. As if that’s possible with one hand, it’s going to be a mess.’

Philipse is one of the authors of the letter and a member of both the Works Council and the faculty’s Representative Council. Both participational bodies have been critically monitoring the outsourcing of cleaning for years. Philipse states over the phone that the university administration should assess whether the external companies it deals with –such as Asito– prioritize being good employers as much as the university claims to do so.

Translated by Siri Joustra