Clean your own desk and get rid of your bin says swine flu university after cleaning cut backs

UCU has criticised the university and accused it of putting staff and students' health at risk by introducing the measures when the institution is under swine flu alert.
 
The university has prioritised areas 'critical for the student experience and income generation' to be cleaned, leading to accusations from staff that profit and image is more important than health and safety. Astonished members of staff have been told that vacuuming will now only take place every two to three weeks, waste bins will only be emptied every few days and that they will have to wait for over fortnight for fixtures to be wiped.
 
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The health and safety of staff is paramount and I am utterly amazed that the university is prepared to cut back on cleaning when it is under swine flu alert. The decision speaks volumes about its priorities - clearly profit and image matter more than people's safety. Staff have the right to be able to work in clean offices and shouldn't have to wait for weeks for floors to be vacuumed and fixtures to be wiped.'

The full details of the changes to cleaning services:

Changes to Cleaning Services

The impact of the University-wide recruitment restrictions on Cleaning Services has meant we have had to review the current cleaning operations, prioritising areas and services for cleaning.

The cleaning of teaching and research areas are critical for the student experience and income generation and cleaning staff are being relocated to these areas where vacancies exist. The current frequency of cleaning in these areas will continue.

Due to the relocation of staff to these priority areas, we have had to introduce some changes in lower priority areas. The main changes affect colleagues located in Administrative & Faculty offices and include:

• Waste bins in offices to be emptied every few days or over half full
• Vacuuming to be carried out every two/three weeks
• Damp wipe fixtures every two/three weeks

We know you value our cleaning staff and the services they provide, and would like to reassure you that we remain committed to providing excellent customer service. We will continue to monitor the impact of the changes and review service levels as appropriate.

For more information on the changes and information on our cleaning services please read our Cleaning Services Frequencies document.

How you can help

We're still committed to providing you with excellent cleaning services, but there are some simple things you can do in your area to help us:

• Recycle
  The University has a dedicated Waste and Recycling team who recycle card and paper
• Give up your bin
  Become a 'single bin' office. It helps cut down on waste and it gives you an excuse to get up and stretch your legs
• Food waste
  If you have any food waste, put it in the bin in your staff or kitchen area as this means we won't need to empty the one in your office as often
• Take responsibility for your area
  We're not suggesting you get the vacuum out, but by keeping things tidy and clean around your desk you'll help us focus on the other areas of your office