Not all cleaners are as lucky as Jagoda Barisic. Scrubbing, wiping, and vacuuming her way through the classrooms, offices and corridors of Ngunnawal Primary School, Mrs Barisic says for her, cleaning is all about the people.
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''I love the people, and if I'm home, I get very bored,'' the 51-year-old says. ''I've got used to it. I do the same at home. I've got three boys and a husband, so all I do at home, that's what I do at school.''
Mrs Barisic, who moved to Australia in 1983, started cleaning about 10 years ago and has worked at schools and offices and has done the 4am shift at the University of Canberra. She says the work might have changed over the years, but she hasn't really noticed. ''If it's more work, I just do it faster.''
The company she works for, Mirrors Cleaning, was one of 16 that re-signed up to the Clean Start agreement on Tuesday, a deal negotiated with the United Voice union that ensures better pay and conditions for cleaners.
Rather than the award rate of $17.49 an hour, cleaners working under the Clean Start agreement get a base pay of $22.02 an hour, as well as better allowances and increased job security.
The director of Mirrors Cleaning, Najib Monchizada, said signing up for the agreement made sense as it ensured a higher standard of cleaning provided by a happier, more stable workforce.
But United Voice ACT branch secretary Lyndal Ryan said not all cleaners were in such a good position, with a stable job, a decent pay cheque, and regular human contact.
Ms Ryan said about 1000 of Canberra's 2500 cleaners were covered by the better conditions.
Some of the larger companies - such as ISS, which holds the cleaning contract for Canberra Hospital - have not signed on to the agreement.
On top of this, a culture of competitive tenders and subcontracting have all led to some inadequate arrangements for often vulnerable workers. This issue of vulnerable workers inspired religious leaders, led by Bishop Pat Power, to throw their support behind the agreement.
Bishop Power said the cleaning industry mostly comprised struggling people - especially new migrants - who were often women. For him, it was only natural to rally behind the cause with leaders from the Muslim and Orthodox communities.
''It's out of sight, out of mind a little bit. The cleaners are getting everything going while the rest of us are asleep, so that's part of it,'' he said. ''But also, too, it's done through contracts … and that's when the squeeze comes on.
''By and large, they're women, and by and large, they're migrant women, so often they had a lot of difficulty articulating their claims.''
But out at Ngunnawal Primary, Mrs Barisic is happy to just have someone to chat to and get regular thanks from the principal and staff for her hard work.
