Dignity

I am writing this piece the morning after the Sue Gray Report on Partygate has at last been published. I am not surprised by any of the findings, but I am extremely disappointed at the total lack of respect shown to some service personnel.

As all of you who know me will understand I strongly believe in dignity for cleaning operatives (not cleaners - a cleaner is a chemical that you use to clean). Cleaning operative or the cleaning team confers some dignity to the individual. I have written many times about the invisible workforce. To be invisible is one thing, to be abused is quite another!

I just looked up the meaning of dignity in the Oxford English Dictionary and it describes the word as ‘the state or quality of being worthy of honour or respect’ and ‘the dignity of labour’. This also reminds me of the Deacon Blue ‘Dignity’ song lyrics, two lines which read: ‘And he packs his lunch in a Sunblest bag’ and ‘The children call him Bogie’. At least this was not to his face but behind his back and if you read all the lyrics it shows he had a dignity of labour.

I have also commented on more than one occasion that in the UK, service is equated to subservience - upstairs/downstairs. I remember vividly going on a good night out with a colleague who was from a privileged background. When I met him for breakfast the next morning, he was somewhat green around the gills, and he could not face his cooked breakfast. I asked him if he was OK and he said: ‘No, not really, I was ill in my room, but I will be alright later.’ I said: ‘I am sorry to hear that, did you manage to clean up after yourself?’ and he replied: ‘That’s what housekeeping are for!’ I was shocked to hear this. Every cleaning operative is a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter etc. Why should we disrespect people who give so much and earn so little?

I discussed Partygate with a taxi driver yesterday morning who has also suffered abuse from unhappy fares. He stated the problem is that no one is ashamed anymore. People do shameful things but do not show any signs of shame - in fact, in some cases, it is their next social media post.

We have all seen posters at railway stations and the post office and various government offices stating that to abuse members of their team will not be taken lightly and may lead to prosecution. Obviously, the cleaning operatives at No. 10 Downing Street were not part of the team.

A final word on Partygate. The cleaning professionals amongst you will know that getting red wine stains out off wallpaper is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Every cloud, therefore, has a silver lining - at least at the party where this happened was not in the flat at No. 10 where allegedly the wallpaper was extremely expensive!

For further information, please visit: WWW.BICS.ORG.UK and the BICSc Virtual Training Suite at HTTPS://BBS-VIRTUAL-TRAINING.THINKIFIC.COM