Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Cleaners' pay has suffered more in real terms since 2008 recession, than pay of those in other fields
The real value of earnings of those whose work involves cleaning is a long way behind that of workers in other fields, having taken longer to recover from the 2008 slump, according to the GMB union's Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2007-2015.
Overall in 2007, average earnings for all employees were £30,015 and although by 2015 they had increased by 12.2% to £33,689, with inflation running at 25.6% over this period, average earnings for all employees are really 13.4% below 2007 level, claims the union.
The worst hit have been workers in the caring, leisure and other service occupations, whose earnings are on average 15.4% below their 'real term' value in 2007. A breakdown of those involved in different cleaning occupations is as follows:
Calculated as 'mean full-time pay', those in elementary cleaning occupations (such as toilet attendants) earned £18,094 in 2007 and £19,318 in 2015 - a drop in real term earnings of 18.8%. Other cleaners and domestics earned £13,427 in 2007 and 15,134 in 2015 - a drop of 12.9%. For caretakers it was £17,931 in 2007 and £20,400 in 2015 - a drop of 11.8%. In refuse and salvage occupations, earnings were £17,734 in 2007 and £20,470 in 2015 - a drop of 10.2%. Those in housekeeping and related occupations earned £15,347 in 2007 and £18,091 in 2015 - a drop of 7.7%. Window cleaners, meanwhile, earned £15,464 in 2007 and £18,409 in 2015 - a drop of 6.6%.
Of the 150 occupations that have seen a real drop in earnings, 127 of those are from occupations earning below average earnings.
This data is from a new analysis by GMB of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2015 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) compared with data from 2007.
25th February 2016