To encourage recognition for his fellow blue-collar workers, Wellington man Mohan Singh took up the challenge of writing a poem for the book Somewhere a cleaner.
"Poetry is not my hobby but when I heard about [Somewhere a cleaner] I thought definitely, let's give it a go," he tells Jesse Mulligan.
Mohan Singh of Wellington cleaning company Clean Planet Photo: Clean Planet
Mohan worked in a restaurant when he first moved to New Zealand but liked the idea of working for himself, which a cleaning franchise offered.
"It is always good when you know that you are your own boss… all you need to do is make sure that you are doing it really well."
Commercial cleaning is under-appreciated work, though, and many people don't seem to understand that cleaners don't just empty rubbish bins, Mohan says.
"It's hard yards, a lot of lifting, sweating, late nights … it's definitely rewarding work because once it's done you feel so proud your office is clean. But you have to understand, so many people have children and when people go out and clean they know their children are back home, they're sleeping, and it can be tough. So it is nice to recognise [that]."
Mohan says the journey of Labour MP and former cleaner Ibrahim Omer, who launched Somewhere a cleaner at Parliament this week, makes him proud.
"It's nice to feel you have someone in parliament who, because of their own background and experience, can represent the rights of blue-collar workers."
"To know he used to be a cleaner as well makes me and my colleagues in the cleaning business feel motivated to achieve more."
Somewhere a cleaner is published by Landing Press.
