SINGAPORE - Outstanding cleaners, cleaning supervisors and companies, and even members of the public who showed kindness to cleaners, were lauded at an awards dinner on Friday night.

Organised by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) U Care Centre and the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees' Union, the inaugural "Appreciating U - Our Cleaners" awards saw 36 individuals and organisations being recognised, out of 285 nominations that had come in since May.

Cleaners and cleaning supervisors who won awards were presented with $500 worth of NTUC FairPrice vouchers each, while members of the public who won awards and the cleaners who nominated them each received $250 worth of vouchers.

"Let us strive to be better customers not just through our interactions with the cleaners, but also through being considerate users of our public spaces," said NTUC assistant secretary-general Zainal Sapari at the dinner at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The awards are part of the nationwide movement launched by NTUC earlier this month to encourage the public to appreciate workers around them.

Cleaners are the first group the "Appreciating U" scheme focused on. It will be extended to security officers, landscape technicians, nurses, mature staff and migrant workers.