Town council reveals struggles estate cleaners face

Singapore has been praised for being a clean and green country, but do we know what it takes to make that happen?

Well, a spotlight has been cast on the unsung heroes who maintain our estates every day in the form of a YouTube video by the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council — specifically on a cleaner named Ong Teng Kee from the Paya Lebar ward.

Ong has been working as an estate cleaner for seven years and admitted that it is harder to clean the upper floors of the HDB blocks. He said his knees hurt especially when he's sweeping the stairwell.

"There are two times in a year where we have to work a lot harder," Ong said in Mandarin. "[The first is] the Chinese New Year spring cleaning period where people will throw a lot of stuff out. Another is the seventh month where residents will pray and place offerings along the corridor.

"They will shout 'Huat ah!' and throw the paper offerings happily while we cleaners will have a hard time sweeping it up."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-8BwZm8WNE&[/embed]

The video was shared in a viral Facebook post today (June 23) by Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh who praised Ong for his hard work and contributions to the cleanliness of the estate. Pritam also revealed that Ong was "complimented with an anonymous note in the lift car".

This act was described by Pritam as one of the "highlights as an Aljunied-Hougang town councillor".

Pritam, 43, added: "The Aljunied-Hougang Town Council introduced a sign-in sheet with a brief introduction of our cleaners some years ago in all our lift cars.

"This was so that residents, councillors, town council staff, and contractors could get to know our cleaners better. We wanted everyone to visualise who cleaned their blocks and to put themselves in the shoes of our cleaners, with a view to nudge all to do our bit in keeping the estate clean."

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/pritam.eunos/posts/3230991323589825[/embed]

The post seems to have resonated very strongly with netizens — which is no surprise as a recent survey commissioned by The Sunday Times saw cleaners as the second most essential job — and has since garnered more than 1,000 'likes' and over 100 shares.

Pritam also commended the "spirit and commitment of fellow Singaporeans like Mr Ong and our foreign workers who do much heavy lifting" as it keeps them "on the right track [of improving the town]".

He concluded: "A warm thank you to all our conservancy contractors and their cleaners who have come through time and time again, and most recently during the Covid-19 period, to ensure the upkeep and hygiene standards throughout Aljunied-Hougang Town."

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bryanlim@asiaone.com