IN OTHER NEWS
SMARTPHONES COULD SPREAD INFECTION, NEW
RESEARCH SHOWS New research from disinfection and decontamination specialists, Sanondaf UK has revealed that mobile phones can present a significant risk of spreading infection in the workplace.
A survey carried out by the journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infection found that mobile phones present a substantial infection risk, with evidence of viruses in 38.5% of devices. The research, undertaken in a French hospital, found that mobile phones used by hospital staff were found to harbour viruses that cause stomach upsets and lung infections. It was also revealed that a fifth of staff did not clean their hands after handling their phones.
Scientists took swabs from mobile and cordless phones used daily by 114 doctors and nurses at Saint- Etienne University Hospital in Saint- Priest-en-Jarez, France. The most widespread contamination was from rotavirus, discovered on 39 out of 109
HONG KONG CLEANERS PROTEST AGAINST WINDOW CLEANING AFTER
LATEST DEATH Earlier this month, cleaners in Hong Kong went on a protest march after several maids fell to their death from tower block windows as they attempted to clean them.
The strike follows growing concerns among rights groups over the welfare of maids in Hong Kong (of which there are around 300,000), with organisers of the rally claiming that at least three cleaners had died falling from windows this year – the most recent being a 35-year-old Filipina cleaner, who fell to her death last month as she was reportedly cleaning
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Stuart White, from Sanondaf UK, commented: “These results are quite alarming, and I think will be mirrored across many businesses. The survey found that 64% of workers used their mobile phones during patient care, with 20% of them admitting they had never carried out any hand hygiene procedures, either before or after using their phone.
phones, which can cause vomiting and diarrhoea. Respiratory syncytial virus genetic material was found on three phones, and evidence of metapneumovirus was on one. Both of these viruses are associated with lung infections, which in high-risk patients may be severe.
the outside of the windows of her employer’s flat.
The protest saw hundreds of maids marching in the centre of Hong Kong, shouting “We are workers, not slaves!” And organisers of the rally are calling on the government to ban employers from asking maids to clean the outside of windows, especially in high rise skyscrapers.
Dolores Balladares, a spokeswoman for the Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body, said: “For us it’s hard to say no when employers ask us to clean windows, but it’s scary.
“It’s about time for the government to protect the workers.”
Thai domestic worker Waen Takruerat, 42, added that the majority of cleaners were expected to clean windows inside and out. Speaking to AFP, she said: “It’s scary and dangerous so I told my boss I can’t do it.”
“It’s something that many of us do not think about, but it’s something that businesses need to be aware of, particularly if you are in a caring profession, such as hospitals, care homes or nurseries. Workplace infection can be spread in a variety of different ways, with the best cleaners in the world unable to catch everything. Businesses lose many man hours a year to illness, which equates to a lot of money being wasted. These businesses need to put steps in place now to protect workers from infection.”
Sanondaf are specialists in disinfection and decontamination. Its specialist fogging product is proven to kill 99.99% of all hazardous viruses, bacteria, fungi or any other micro-organism.
www.sanondaf.co.uk
This is the latest in a series of campaigns to improve working conditions for cleaners in Hong Kong, after their struggle was thrown into the spotlight in early 2015 when the case of Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, who was beaten and starved by her employer, made headlines across the world.
Campaigners have been seeking reforms, including ending the requirement for maids to live with their employers, as they feel it makes it difficult for them to escape abuse. They’re also seeking to abolish the ‘two-week rule’, which states that domestic workers must leave Hong Kong 14 days after they quit a job, unless they can find other employment within that time.
But as of yet, the government has shown no indication of relaxing either rule.
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