ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A resignation note left by a UK cleaner for her boss has gone viral on Twitter, with multiple people speaking out against poor treatment of support staff.

Julie Cousins, 67, left her job as a cleaner for HSBC after 35 years following a "dressing down" by her office manager. In her resignation letter she wrote: "In a world when you can be anything, be kind - because you are all no better than the cleaner."

Ms Cousins, from Southampton, added that the treatment she had experienced was "nothing more than aggressive and cruel". The contents of her resignation note
were shared by her son in a Twitter post that attracted more than 3,000 comments.

Many of the tweets concerned reports of poor treatment of parents, children and colleagues working in support staff roles as cleaners, caretakers, security guards and receptionists.

Tracy Sadler commented on the Twitter feed: "I am a cleaner with three part-time jobs and sometimes people can be cruel. We as cleaners have kept this world and its buildings and shops and homes clean. Cleaners matter also."

Many urged office workers to treat cleaners and other support staff in the same way as all other co-workers and colleagues, adding that this would lead to a more pleasant working environment, a sense of camaraderie and cleaner offices.

According to Trades Union Congress general secretary Frances O'Grady: "Cleaners have played a vital role during this pandemic in keeping workplaces and public spaces safe, often at great personal risk.

"Employers and the government must do more to value the contribution these overlooked key workers make."