Shortage of cleaners in S'pore worsens after Malaysia border fully reopens
A cleaner from Perfection General Services working at Chinatown Hawker Centre on Nov 8, 2021. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Joyce Lim
Senior Correspondent
Apr 18, 2022
SINGAPORE - Some cleaning firms are so short of staff that they face having to turn down new jobs or give up on existing contracts because they do not have enough cleaners to carry out the work.
Mr Vincent Goh, managing director of Perfection General Services, said the labour crunch is forcing him to prematurely terminate his cleaning service contract worth about $65,000 a month with Chinatown Complex Food Centre.
Mr Goh, who has been providing tray-clearing and table-cleaning services to 226 food stalls at the popular hawker centre in Smith Street for about six years, said he lost four Malaysian workers when they returned home after the land border between Singapore and Malaysia fully reopened on April 1.
"I also had five workers down with Covid-19 and two more simply didn't turn up for work," he added.
His contract with Chinatown Complex Hawkers' Association expires on Aug 31 but he expects to end his service in July or as soon as the association finds a new cleaning firm to take over, a process that has already begun.
At one point, Mr Goh said he was short of seven cleaners to carry out the work at the hawker centre, which needs 20 workers.
"Currently, I face a daily shortage of three to four workers at Chinatown hawker centre. The hawkers have been complaining about the overflowing tray stations and tables filled with dirty crockery. Some of them used that as an excuse to not pay for their cleaning fees," said Mr Goh.
He added that since the pandemic hit in 2020, it has been increasingly challenging to collect cleaning fees from hawkers, who also cited poor business to delay their payments.
Mr Goh said he was owed more than $187,000 in cleaning fees at the end of last month (March).
Other cleaning contractors who spoke to The Straits Times said they face shortages of between 20 per cent and 40 per cent of workers, especially after the reopening of Malaysia's border, which allows fully vaccinated people to travel freely without quarantine or Covid-19 testing.
Mr Tony Chooi, president of the Environmental Management Association of Singapore, said most foreign cleaners in Singapore come from Malaysia and the border reopening sparked an exodus back across the Causeway.
"The workers want to return home to Malaysia after two years of not seeing their families. Some of them have decided to return home for good and quit their jobs," said Mr Chooi.
While local businesses are hoping that Malaysian workers will return, the inflow is limited now given it is the fasting month of Ramadan, said Mr Chooi, who is the director of cleaning and environmental service provider BNL Services.
Mr Chooi said he hopes "the Government will consider letting cleaning firms recruit workers from more countries, not just Malaysia and China", which will help to ease the labour crunch.
There are about 55,000 cleaners across 1,500 cleaning businesses in Singapore, according to Mr Chooi.
Mr Sean Loo, who runs Shinn Diamond, said he has yet to get a response to an advertisement he placed in several Malaysia job search portals more than a week ago.
"Previously, I would get calls from Malaysians asking about the job scope almost every hour after my job ad was posted," said Mr Loo, whose firm is short of about 20 workers.
"It used to be easy to hire Malaysians. Very often, it was done through word of mouth. I don't know why it's so hard to find Malaysian workers now. Perhaps they have found other jobs and decided to stay in Malaysia."
Mr Loo said he decided not to bid for three upcoming projects that commence in June, July and September given the worker shortage.
"I don't dare to commit as my trade solely depends on labour workers," he added.
Cleaning contractor Tee Kek Ling, who provides services to four hawker centres in Marine Parade, Eunos, Kallang Bahru and Tampines, said he recently won a contract bid for Block 79A Circuit Road Food Centre starting on June 1.
"I had to team up with another cleaning firm so that I can cater to this new business," said Mr Tee, who had lost a few workers to the food and beverage sector.
Mr Tee said he pays his cleaners a minimum gross monthly salary of $1,400 but food and beverage outlets are offering 20 per cent more.
"If I am a low-wage worker, I, too, would jump ship. It's challenging for me to offer more when I can't raise my cleaning fees," he added.
The labour crunch has also spilt into the residential service sector, which allows households to engage part-time cleaners.
Ms Zhong Jing Jing, managing director of Helpling Singapore, said it is tough to hire locals to do residential cleaning.
"Even when we managed to hire some locals, they don't stay long enough in the job," said Ms Zhong, adding that the firm is still 40 per cent short of workers.
Mr Lim Gek Meng, chairman of Chinatown Complex Hawkers' Association, said the association called for tenders to provide cleaning services last week.
The recent easing of Covid-19 restrictions is bringing crowds back to the food centre but "it will be a serious problem if the cleaners can't clear the dirty crockery in time", noted Mr Lim.
Mr Gavin Cher, who runs a food stall in Chinatown food centre, said: "The current cleanliness issue did not pop up overnight or only when the tray return scheme was implemented. When I visited other hawker centres, I find them well-maintained.
"I think Chinatown hawker centre is probably one of the dirtiest hawker centres in Singapore. The design of the food centre's infrastructure and the layout of the stalls, where some stalls are hidden in some corners, make the place challenging to manage."
Mr Cher added: "Besides more cleaners, the cleaning contractor will need to have a good plan on how the cleaning processes will be carried out."
