Covid-19: Cleaning firms to get 6-month automatic licence renewal until early 2021, says Amy Khor

SINGAPORE — Cleaning businesses with licences expiring between now and Feb 28 next year will be given an automatic six-month licence renewal by the National Environment Agency. Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources,  announced this on Wednesday (March 11).

More than 1,200 licenced cleaning businesses will benefit from this six-month automatic extension, including 190 companies that fall under the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme, which recognises firms for achieving high standards in the industry.

Firms with the Clean Mark Accreditation will also get an automatic six-month renewal of their accreditation status, Dr Khor said.

The mandatory licensing regime was introduced in 2014 to regulate the cleaning sector.

Both the cleaning licence and accreditation are renewable on a yearly basis. To qualify, businesses must get their employees to go for a full-day training and seek their customers’ assessment of their services.

Speaking at an appreciation event in Republic Polytechnic attended by 80 workers from the environmental services sector, Dr Khor told the cleaning professionals and workers present that they play a key role in helping the country to maintain high standards of cleanliness and hygiene.

By cleaning the public spaces, these businesses and workers help to safeguard public health and minimise the transmission of infectious diseases such as Covid-19, she added.

“We hope that (the automatic extension) will alleviate the administrative burden and allow (companies) to focus their efforts on the immediate needs of enhancing cleaning and sanitation, and meeting their clients' demand for stepped up cleaning and sanitation efforts,” she said.

Most cleaning companies interviewed by TODAY expressed relief when told about the six-month automatic licence and accreditation renewal, because they are facing manpower constraints due to increased cleaning frequency caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Mr Kelvin Boo, 47, managing director of Trancom Group Sergent Services, said: “Any help will not be little to our cleaning community.”

He added that the licence extension of six months will help his firm keep employees on the job.

“We are now tapping our existing cleaners to increase wiping frequency. If we need to send our cleaners for training to obtain the Clean Mark (accreditation), then it will affect our operations,” Mr Boo said.

Mr Thong Jong Woei, 40, director of Marvel Clean, a small cleaning enterprise with 80 workers, said that the automatic licence renewal would be very helpful for his firm.

His company's cleaning licence is due to expire in a month’s time.

“Part of the licence renewal requires staff to undergo two to three days of classroom training, which takes manpower out of the job,” Mr Thong said.

Instead of focusing on process to meet licence compliance, Mr Thong said that his workers can now “fully focus” on the frontline, with the resources they save from not having to renew their licence for now.

However, in lieu of the mandatory training required for the licence renewal, Mr Thong has signd up his employees for a three-hour course newly developed by Republic Polytechnic, which equips them with the knowledge on how to don and doff personal protection equipment and wipe down correctly to prevent onsite biological contamination.

Even for larger cleaning companies, the automatic renewal was warmly received.

Ms Faith Wong, head of industrial relations at ISS Facility Services, told TODAY that the automatic licence renewal was great news for her company, which employs more than 7,000 cleaners.

Ms Wong also said that the administrative team takes at least one month to prepare the necessary documents for the yearly licence renewal process

“Learning about this automatic licence renewal today is a big relief for us because we typically send 20 to 30 per cent of our cleaning staff for training each year.''

In her address, Dr Khor also acknowledged that the extra efforts put in to ensure the high standards of cleanliness and hygiene “has inevitably placed high demands” on cleaning companies in particular, because cleaners have to increase the frequency and rigour of their cleaning regime.