Hackney Council offices – CK-Travels-Shutterstock
More than 100 cleaning staff at Hackney Council have been brought back in-house, as part of the council’s commitment to bringing more services back under its direct control.
As of 1 January 2021, staff working at 110 council buildings, including the main campus on Mare Street, offices around the borough, libraries and concierge offices on estates, are directly employed by the council.
Staff will wear new council uniforms and personal protective equipment following their transfer into the council’s Environmental Services team, which also delivers street cleansing, refuse collection, recycling and other waste services.
Deputy Mayor Councillor Rebecca Rennison, cabinet member for finance, housing needs and supply, said: ”We committed in our manifesto in 2018 to reviewing all outsourced services, with a view to bringing them back in-house. This is just the latest service where we’ve been able to deliver.”
Rennison said many of the cleaners being transferred have been at the council for years and will now officially become part of the council, and benefit from improved terms and conditions.
She added: “We’re continuing this work at pace, and looking at further opportunities to insource services, helping us provide a better package for staff and deliver better services to residents.”
Insourcing council services wherever possible is a key part of the council’s work to deliver “high-quality services that represent value for money for local taxpayers and rebuild a fairer local economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic – ensuring that fair pay, good employment opportunities and workers’ rights are protected in the borough’s economic recovery”.
This follows last year’s decision to bring parking enforcement officers back in-house, the insourcing of the council’s fleet maintenance service, the expansion of existing in-house provision in areas like housing and highways maintenance, and the council’s commitment to pay a London Living Wage to all staff – as well as encouraging the borough’s businesses to do the same.