Invisible heroes: How cleaning staff keep Austria clean every day

Invisible heroes: How cleaning staff keep Austria clean every day

In Austria, tens of thousands of cleaning staff in train stations, hospitals, schools, streets and offices ensure a high degree of cleanliness. Many of these employees are women with a migration background, the often invisible work of society benefits. Your role is discussed in a recent report by Adriana Jurić, which under the title "Who keeps Austria clean?" on May 31, 2025 on ORF 2 and on June 4 on ORF 1. As OTS , Jurić's work highlights the life realities of people in a migration, addressed also the challenges that these workers face.

The work of cleaning staff is often taken for granted, while the recognition for their commitment is missing. Her daily struggles against dirt and germs remain unnoticed. The WSI also addresses the specific challenges of migrant cleaning staff, especially on platforms such as helpling. The spatial distribution of private households makes it difficult to organize these workers, which leads to low social security.

working conditions and challenges

cleaning staff who work on Helpling often have to struggle with inadequate working conditions. According to an investigation, which was carried out by researchers around Katarzyna Gruszka at the Vienna University of Economics University, many cleaning staff only receive low hourly rates that are around 10 to 15 euros after deducting a high commission of the platform. In addition, most of these workers act as solo self-employed people, which means that they have to take care of their social security themselves. Böckler emphasizes that this leads to dissatisfaction, since many cleaning staff have an unclear labor law position.

aggravating that the majority of the cleaning staff cannot react directly to customer reviews. This creates a power weight, since Helpling often decides in favor of customers during conflicts and does not feel responsible for outstanding payments. This Situation is reinforced by language barriers and a general isolation of the workers, which makes the collective resistance to abuses.

perspectives of organization

Despite the challenges mentioned, there are approaches to organize. Informal groups and support from counseling centers are examples of how cleaning staff join in to represent their interests. In Berlin, migrant workers have developed strategies on cleaning platforms, such as the aforementioned helpling, to fight against these unsustainable conditions. In this context, the planned EU directive for platform work is also important, which could possibly improve communication between cleaning staff and unions.

The Adriana Jurić report not only opens up an insight into the challenges of the cleaning staff, but also recognizes their important roles in our society. By addressing the life realities of these people, the reportage helps to increase the visibility of your work and to promote a dialogue about the working conditions in the cleaning industry.