WELL before and after the hustle and bustle of the crowds, the cleaners at Rose City Shoppingworld are hard at work.

They're the first to start in the morning and the last to leave late at night but their work is highly appreciated by the thousands of people who shop in the busy centre each week.

For more than 20 hours a day at least one of the 10 cleaners is on duty, with the first arriving at 5am and the last leaving at 2am.

All are employed by Springmountain Services and, according to manager Rod Ellis, there was more to the job than just wiping tables.

"We don't clean inside the stores but we clean the mall, toilets, car parks and loading docks," he said.

"A major part of our job is to keep the tables clear.

"We carefully check the toilets throughout the day/night - every 20 to 30 minutes."

The cleaners are constantly in contact with each other throughout the day in case of accidents or emergencies and are all trained in first aid.

Cheryl Cole, who has been cleaning at the shopping centre for five years, said it was a rewarding job.

"You get to meet different people and get to know the regulars," she said.

Mr Ellis said shoppers were generally appreciative and the cleaners were told so regularly.

The manager paid homage to his hard-working team and their relationship with the centre management.

"The crew I have now is the best I've had yet - they take ownership of what they do," he said.

"We work in well with centre management - we have a good working relationship with them."

Daily News readers Daryl N Nicole voted for the Rose City Shoppingworld cleaning team in the newspaper's Top 10 businesses Facebook post.

"Rose city shopping centre cleaners, because without them the centre would be a mess," they wrote.

The comment had seven likes - making the Rose City team the winning cleaners.