Doris Chauca is a cleaner, a member of Kings College London's Empoderando Familias - a project providing 'information to parents in the Latino community about education for [their] children', as well as Vice President for the cleaners' branch of IWGB union, and a volunteer for Citizens UK. She is very passionate about fair wages, stable hours, and for workers in the cleaning industry to be treated with the respect they deserve. We spoke to Doris about her experience with the real Living Wage.

Can you tell us a bit about your background?

My name is Doris Chauca Coronado, I am Ecuadorian and I have been living in London for 5 years. I am the mother of a wonderful 13-year-old son and I decided to emigrate to London because unfortunately in my country I could not find sources of work since they discriminated against me because of my age and considered that I was no longer fit to work.

The opportunities were moving away and I felt that there were no opportunities for my son. I considered London because England is a country that I like a lot and that could have a better future for me and my son. In my country I finished my higher education and obtained the degree of Marketing Engineer. I had basic knowledge of English and when I arrived here it was difficult, but I have managed to be understood and to understand. I come from a large family, we are 9 siblings including me, my father passed away when I was 20 years old and my mother was the one who helped me financially to come and unfortunately she passed away with COVID.

Many things have happened, but my parents taught me to be a strong woman and despite the pain, you have to continue.

When I arrived in London, I knew that the only job I could find was cleaning. At first, it was very complicated, but it was hard for me to understand that cleaning was a job and not my identity. That is why I got involved in the Living Wage campaign, since it is not just the salary you are paid, but the way you are treated and that for many years we have been invisible.

During the pandemic, I had to work because I did not have the necessary time to receive payment when the buildings were closed. In that company, they paid me the minimum and the hours were not enough. It was very hard, but I had a job and I went from company to company because there are really many needs in the cleaning sector to which I belong.

I have experienced firsthand the discrimination for not speaking fluent English, the insensitivity of companies in terms of workload and safety equipment needed to clean.

In the last two companies I worked for, I was paid the Living Wage, but the hours were not enough and the treatment remained the same.

I am part of some organizations such as Empoderando Familias, which seeks to provide information to parents in the Latino community about education for our children. I am a volunteer in the IWGB union, the cleaning workers branch, as vice president, and we seek to have our rights respected and to be treated with respect and dignity. One of the main struggles is to have the Living Wage paid and to be visible to a society that sees this work as something that does not deserve respect. I worked on a short film called “When the lights get off and the cleaners get in” with the MINA organization (Migrants in Action) with the Brazilian community. Also with Citizens UK, an organization with which I have also had the opportunity to be present in some actions, and to be part of the voice that has not been heard for many years, a voice that is now visible and heard.

Have you always been paid a real Living Wage at your current employer?

Currently, at my job, I am paid a little more than the Living Wage. I truly believe that there are many companies that care about their employees in the cleaning sector and see us as human beings, because we have feelings, we have problems, and we are not immune to getting sick.

Now I feel very good where I work, but it has been a process of getting here since you have to look for new opportunities and that is also achieved by continuing to learn the language.

My bad experiences have not always been because of the company, but because of supervisors or managers who know nothing about human relations and abuse their position. No one can really know how we feel when we are treated like beasts of burden, as if our work is not worthy of respect.

But now, through joint work and the constant struggle of different organizations, we are managing to be visible, not only with our community but with the vast majority of people who do this type of work.

What was challenging about everyday budgeting for you and your family before being paid a real Living Wage?

Before I was able to work for the company I am now, budgeting was very hard as I lived day to day, to be able to buy food weekly, sometimes restricting myself from certain things, looking for discounts, accessing help from the food bank. For me it has always been about looking for solutions and learning that you can't have everything in life.

The Living Wage payment hasn't solved everything for me, I can say that maybe there is a little more comfort but the cost of living goes up daily, in my case I am a single mother and the only provider for my home, a weekly £100 grocery shop and with a teenage son who is growing and his needs are also different. In reality it is not enough in my case, in other people’s cases maybe it is.

What impact has being paid a real Living Wage had on you and your family?

As I said before, I can be a little more comfortable but it is not a radical change impact, the economic processes are very difficult. I could not mention it in my previous point but transportation is another item that is often not given importance, but I have to buy a monthly card and its cost is quite high. In reality, it is not fulfilled that a decent salary is the solution to the needs of all families.

The motivation and value that I receive in my work, I am sorry to say, is not a decent salary. I think it is a misconception to think that a decent salary motivates us to be better employees.

In my case, I feel more motivated and valued when I am treated with dignity and respect, and when I add a decent salary, I am really happy that the company is aware that our work is important and I am convinced that this does not only happen in the cleaning sector.

What makes you want to campaign for a real Living Wage and stable work contracts for other workers? Why do you think this is such an important issue?

When I started this journey of getting to know organisations that care about a sector that is quite mistreated, such as cleaning, and not only because I heard it, but because I experienced it, because there have been many years of silence and abuse. Now we are being visible and heard, but there is still much to do.

I am the voice that does not remain silent in the face of certain lack of respect towards me as a human being, that my work as a cleaner is not my identity, and I long for many voices to be heard and for the vast majority of people to be able to access fair payments and hours (amount of hours worked) that are sufficient to continue living, not just surviving.

It is important because we are citizens of this country that welcomed us and that is now our home and because we contribute economically and pay taxes like everyone else, the difference is the type of work, for the rest we are all here to be treated with respect and dignity.

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For the ShareAction investor guide to the costs of low pay, click here.

If you'd like to join our campaign for all workers in the retail industry to receive a real Living Wage, you can do so here.