Images Dated 13th April 1970

Two women in blue "trouser suit" uniforms and berets pulled on rubber gloves

Two women in blue "trouser suit" uniforms and berets pulled on rubber gloves and set to work to give Coventry Precinct a sparkle. They are part of the corporation's "clean up the city centre" plan which involves spending £5,000 on giving the area a facelift. Coventry's answer to Kim & Aggie, Mrs Elsie Wardle of Stoke Heath(left) and Mrs. Betty Gee of Vauxhall Street, Hillfileds, were full of smiles as they wheeled their lightweight trolleys, gleaming with brand-new equipment, into action. They, together with Mrs. E. West of Peel Lane, will scrub and polish on shift work rates that give them £9 7s. a week - 2 weeks from 7.30 am to 12.30 pm and one from 1.0 to 6pm. "We hope people will see us cleaning and will help by trying to keep the precinct clean; we'll have to get an air gun otherwise," joked Mrs. Gee. Mr. Norman Stacey, cleansing and transport manager in the City Engineers Department, said the cleansers would be given a list of duties each day: We are working out how often each job needs to be done," he said. The women won't take the place of men who sweep the Precinct though the do have equipment for picking up litter. "We think there has been a lack of the woman's touch in the Precinct. We want to put a sparkle into it and we feel they can clean and polish better than men. They will be cleaning rails, metal supports, litter bins, subways, statues and any tiled surfaces," he said.
13th April 1970

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