Garbage Collection Workers To Work Overtime

June 24, 2013

[Update: The Ministry of Public Works said that garbage collection workers will be working overtime over the next few days to clear the garbage backlog. Minister of Public Works Trevor Moniz made the decision to approve the overtime due to the "overwhelming concern from residents."]

“For almost a month, the people of Hamilton Parish and St. George’s have experienced a dramatic decrease in scheduled garbage collection,” Shadow Public Works Minister Derrick Burgess said today [June 24].

“Since June 7th, there has been only one garbage collection within these areas, where four pickups are traditionally scheduled,” continued Mr Burgess.

“This raises health and safety issues for our communities, as well as a tremendous inconvenience to our taxpayers. This situation is baffling and the Minister has, so far, remained silent on why this has occurred or when and how it will be resolved.

“On behalf of my constituents, as well as all residents of Hamilton Parish and St. George’s, I have contacted the Minister responsible, Mr. Trevor Moniz for answers and a speedy solution to this serious problem,” Mr Burgess concluded.

The garbage collection, or lack thereof, has been widely discussed lately, with numerous locals complaining about the situation.

The initial delay was caused by the industrial action at the Government Quarry last week, with a large portion of Works & Engineering staff walking off the job in support of a suspended colleague.

On June 19th, the Ministry said that regular garbage collection resumed, and advised residents to either re-bag their garbage, take it  to Tynes Bay, and to use a disinfectant to “mitigate unsanitary conditions until the garbage is collected.”

Update 1.22pm: The Ministry of Public Works said that garbage collection workers will be working overtime over the next few days to clear the garbage backlog.

The Ministry took the opportunity today to thank residents for their continued patience, apologising for the inconvenience caused over the past couple of weeks.

A Ministry spokesperson said today, “In the interest public health and safety, as well as in light of the overwhelming concern from residents who have contacted the Ministry requesting the pile up of garbage in their respective neighbourhods to be removed, the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. Trevor Moniz, has made the decision to approve the overtime.

“Ministry crews will be working in both the West and East Ends of the Island to remove garbage as quickly as possible following the conclusion of the recent industrial action at the Government Quarry.

“While collection staff resumed regular garbage collections last week, they were unable to keep up with the volume that was backlogged as a result of the sympathy work stoppage – which was coupled with the Public Holiday falling around the same time.”

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Comments (68)

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  1. Truth (Original) says:

    It could have something to do with the horrible financial position we are in and the ensuing financial impact on our seeming inability to repair or replace the several trash trucks that are out of commission.

    It may be that.

  2. watching says:

    I agree.
    It is unhealthy and unsanitary to see this all over the island and it isnt just the East End.
    I understand there were some labour issues that resulted in this but the government either should allow overtime to get this sorted out or hire a private sanitation company to collect the trash until things are back on schedule.

    • Be Like Me says:

      I would normally say yes, overtime, however the “Workers” (I use that word loosely) downed tools for 4 days, got paid for 2 1/12 of those..

      Why should they get any overtime for doing the job they should have done whilst off???

      • Real Talk (original) says:

        Bang.

        • tosha says:

          exactly! overtime with no pay

          • ontherivet says:

            Overtime with no pay? They’ll stike for the better part of the next decade for that…

      • Mazumbo says:

        Next time management would think twice before they make stupid decisions. Suspending an employee who’s worked for 16 years with an unblemished record for driving a vehicle he normally drives on a regular basis, Sounds like a role model employee to me(unless your looking for someone PERFECT)Gone are the day”s when you can fire someone when you feel like it and those of you who don’t like it GET OVER IT,LOL. Like the saying goes (Don’t start no s— wont be no s—)and that’s all your smelling right now after all the garbage is gone. LOL

        • Same old same old says:

          Idiot.

        • Building a better Bermuda says:

          So you are saying that he shouldn’t go unpunished when violating a policy with a clearly laid out punishment. All he had to do was seek permission from management, if he was suc a sterling and responsible employee, he would have done just that.
          As to the fact that we now have to pay overtime to the very people who ILLEGALLY downed tools and caused this very problem.

          1 – we should not have paid them for as many of the days as they were off
          2 – I have no problem paying them for the out of hours they now need to work to clean up this mess, but it should be at regular time
          3 – Mr Burgess really needs to stop play politics with this, there is little doubt that he was behind the scenes egging on his Union brothers on and he is as responsible for the mess in his constituency as the union. The hypocracy that he utters every time he tries to talk like he is representing the people of this country is appalling.

          • Mazumbo says:

            There are disciplinary procedure”s that are in place to avoid the mess that we are in and when you don’t follow them that’s what happens. We always hear about people urging others to be law abiding citizens and there are guide lines to follow to being a law abiding citizen, likewise with management there are guidelines to follow ,and the policy that you claim has no punishment attached to it as a matter of fact it was not distributed to anyone(when it was asked to be retrieved from the computer there where no cc attachments, useually when news like that is implemented there would be an attachment to EVERYONES pay slip so who dropped the ball.!!!!!

    • Dockyard Lackey says:

      I don’t think the trash guys downed tools. I believe they worked “to rule”, so got paid in full for doing as little as possible. Now they get overtime as a “reward” for doing JACK over four days. I firmly believe that the BIU are intent on shutting down this Island to try and get rid of the current Government. Their members obviously live in fear of reprisal if they do not heed the call to take industrial action. Time they showed some moxy and said No to the union and Yes to their fellow Bermudians. You are paid to do a job so DO IT. We will ALL SUFFER from this stupidity. I hope the idiot who drove the compny vehicle against instructions feels very proud of the chaos he has caused.

  3. Family Man says:

    Privatize the island’s garbage collection.

    • ontherivet says:

      Yes…a seemingly simble solution but the nafai…sorry unions will have non of that. as a matter of fact Family Man you may be in danger for suggesting such things….

  4. Shag says:

    Very rarely do I get the trash picked during the day time. Quite often after 5. Last week east end of Ord rd was not picked up at all. Why don’t we just, officially, go back to one day a week collection. It would, or should, cut out all overtime

  5. Bermuda Boy says:

    Followed 2 empty trash trucks up north shore, passing all of the trash bags as they went by. It’s a game with them.

    • Let's Think About This... says:

      Maybe they passed those areas because they’re assigned other ones…

    • Hall says:

      The quarry guys where down tools how could the collection guys have there trucks if they had been down for repairs you all run off at the mouth and don’t have the facts it was most likely a mechanic bring the truck to marsh folly after repairing it. The collection guys didn’t down tools for you all information if a truck broke down or got a flat tire who was suppose to fixes it the man in the moon.

  6. Patricia says:

    OVERTIME!!! I sure hope they are NOT being paid. Unbelievable!! They down tools, can’t collect all the build up of trash after and now there is overtime. I sure hope they DO NOT expect to be paid overtime to clear up their mess. They should be made to work either through lunch or overtime and NOT be paid for what they themselves have caused. UNBELIEVABLE!!! I sure hope they are not paid.

  7. Truth is killin' me... says:

    Went by Burnt House Hill yesterday and that whole hill was RANKIN’ and this was at 7am, no hot sun out yet! Also, why do they pick up trash on Harbor Road at 5pm when rush hour traffic is in full flow going home…RIDICULOUS!?

  8. hollywood says:

    Dopey a** trash truck drivers its trash everywere you dumb ***** come clean the s*** up before i start droppin my trash around to w and e or corporation of hamilton

    • Clive Spate says:

      Four days off and paid for two and a half. Now they’re getting overtime to clear the backlog.

      They don’t seem too dopey to me!!

      • Triangle Drifter says:

        Thats the scam. Simple inna? Privatise, Privatise, Privatise!!!!

  9. Stop Complaining for 1 Second says:

    @ Bermuda Boy
    Your name says it all. Did you ever figure they that the trucks work in zones?
    Duh its not rocket science

  10. Family Man says:

    Wow, I think I’ll take a few days off and go hang out by the water. Get paid for 60% of that time then come back and demand overtime for all the work that’s piled up while I was off. I’m sure my boss will go for that.

    Bob, you better increase the size of that bond offering if this is how your ministers are going to run their departments.

  11. Roslyn says:

    Any truckers our there that do not have a job? Go to Ministry of Public Works and make a deal. You can pick up trash, take it to Tynes Bay and be paid by the weight. It is an idea which will help to eliminate the trash situation quicker and also eliminate OVERTIME!

  12. M.T. Pockets says:

    Simple answer for Mr. Derek Burgess. It started when the union that you previously led conducted an illegal work stoppage and escalated from there complicated with a public holiday.

    I’m surprised you didn’t know that.

    • d.o. says:

      spot on M.T. and he has the gall to complain. Hell I am on east end route but it is a crap shoot for Tuesday pick up, usually Wednesday late late afternoon.

  13. Um Um Like says:

    Wow! Overtime after striking? I’m going to sh** in my garbage!

  14. jenni says:

    Why can’t we go back to the days of old and burn the trash until this is under control. I think we need to do something instead of complaining, let’s think of health and our visitor, the more we put out the worse things are getting.

    • d.o. says:

      i agree with the burning part because I am sure as hell not going to bring it, re bag it, or waste my money buying disinfectant. I dont get paid for “downing tools” then get OT for doing so.

  15. A.B>C" says:

    Truth is killin’ me

    Family Man

    Bermuda Boy

    theres more out there STFU SERIOUSLY

    nada to do then whine and bit** get a F……. life dumb f****

    waitin for ur stupid replys stupid a**es

    • Family Man says:

      Well there’s an intelligent reply, spelling mistakes and all. I guess if you had stayed in school and paid attention during your lessons you might have a job that required you to work eight hours a day though instead of a W&E job where you could knockoff at 3:00pm after a two hour lunch. So I’d have to say it looks like you made a good decision to stay dumb.

      Perhaps you can explain why the government is involved in garbage collection in the first place? This should all be put out to private tender; two, three or more contracts to cover the entire island with rolling maturities on the contracts. If the private companies want to be unionized, that’s great but lets have no more political blackmail.

    • Y-Gurl says:

      Wow, the result of no education , the thing that surprises me the most would be the fact you were able to read the comments before attempting a reply (or did someone read it to you) either way I WON’T be waiting on your reply! And you better hope that service isn’t privatized because your worst nightmare will come true in the form of an APPLICATION FORM.

  16. Joonya says:

    This is absolutely disgusting. BIU needs to go. Its very sad how a small organization can control the vast majority of the population. Next time we should do what one commenter suggested and that is to dump it on BIUs front door..

    • Mazumbo says:

      It’s very sad how a small organization can control the island (FORTY THIEVES) LOL

      • Cocks says:

        Who were the 40 thieves? Can you name names?

        • Mazumbo says:

          40 Thieves Old Oligarchy all the same, Henry Tucker ,James Pearman, John Cox, Reginald Conyers, Howard Trott, Stanley Spurling, Bayard Dill, Harry Butterfield ,Trimingham”s ,Gibbons and all the other names and families who where before who abused their power and authority over the years at the cost of hard working BERMUDIANS!!!!!!!!

  17. PLP Policy Maker says:

    soon this will be work for expats too !

  18. micro says:

    They should work with no overtime pay. Collection has been irregular for the past three months if not longer; a number of times particular neighbourhoods will be skipped, trucks will come after 5, Tuesday collection has been non-existent for a while. The recent industrial action has very little to do with this.

  19. watching says:

    Part of governing is handling labour disputes. If Minister Moniz isn’t willing or able to then turn it over to a Minister that is. But it is easier for some to just blame the union at every turn. I agree that the union can be a pain but they arent going anywhere.

    • Mazumbo says:

      THE Union being a pain is a part of RETRIBUTION. For all the years our for fathers fought and where humiliated after building this country to where it is today now their descendants are benefiting from the struggle and foundation they laid just like the oligarchy’s descendants are benefiting for generations. Karma is a B—-.LOL

  20. jt says:

    Not just the garbage that is stinking.

  21. Y-Gurl says:

    These clowns are permanently on overtime, they work a couple of hours a day and get paid for 8, they strike then get paid to clear up the crap that’s on the streets, the overtime is possibly the one and only thing that could be “engineered” by this department. They make the least contribution to society ( the entire W&E not just garbage collectors) and cost us the most and now we are paying to have them work slow on overtime

    • Mazumbo says:

      They make the least contribution to society!!!! Let them not pick up your trash for a month and see how much of a contribution they are to society!!!! LOL

      • Y-Gurl says:

        There are many many private contractors who could do the trash pick up for a fraction of the WE cost and no illegal strikes.

  22. Opressed says:

    For the past 40+ years, this island has been run by the biggest bunch of F$$**** P###IES ever to walk this planet. Please can we have a real government? This is absolutely disgusting. Time for the OBA to step aside, call a general election whereby only people with huge b@$$s will be able to be voted in.

  23. Opressed says:

    An open letter to minister Moniz,
    Mr. Moniz, it’s obvious that you cannot do the right thing where the people of this island are concerned. Please resign by the beginning off the WORK day tomorrow. If you don’t have the guts to even do that, I would hope that Premier Cannonier would force your hand and request your resignation, immediately.

    I will gladly step in and run the W&E department, gratis.

  24. Sir George Somers says:

    Everybody should take their trash and dump it othe doorsteps of the BIU!

    This is getting ridiculous, paid overtime after striking! Where is the money??

    • Nuffin but da Truth says:

      I was thinking about dropping off my trash at the biu,it is the headquarters of trash after all.

      I betcha ex pats could do the job in half the time and without joining any stupid union that takes their money and gives nothing in return.

  25. Tolerate says:

    Hahaha, why you think the whole strike for four day and get paid for two and a half went over with no fuss. Do you really think the Union would have let that one go if they did not already know the afford that would be required to clear the back log. They knew over-time was coming; Hell, my trash barely gets pickup regularly when they are on the job.

  26. Come On Man says:

    I hope they are not working overtime for overtime pay. That will only mean the jokes on the public. Next time this sh*** happens. I’m dumping my trash on the BIU steps. What a load of rubbish

  27. Ed says:

    Privatize everything, transportation, garbage collection, you name it privatize it.

  28. Building a better Bermuda says:

    Time for work equality laws on the books

    - a standardized base pay scale and benefits system throughout the civil service, based on experience and years of service
    - legislation making it to be non-mandatory to be part of a union, irregardless of place of employment
    - legislation for companies to have a stated base pay scale and benefits, and that if a union negotiates to have these changed for their members, they are changed for all employees
    - legislation regulate the power unions are able to wield and responsiblities, including penalties for failure to provide their financial statements
    - legislated penalties for labor law violations for both union and employers

    • Mazumbo says:

      Sounds like Oligarchy talk to me. LOL

      • Opinions Matter says:

        You may wish the check the definition. The proposed transparency is not an oligarchy. The current “closed” door approach IS though.

  29. Felix says:

    My trash is very ripe after baking several days in the sun. Shame I cannot add more to it. Enjoy!

  30. shutthemdown says:

    I would like to see you ubb/oba idiots try to make it private. All this tought talk out of you fools.

    • Nuffin but da Truth says:

      it would be really easy to do that and there is nothing an idiot like you can do about it.

  31. onion says:

    Shooting themselves in the foot actually. Can you imagine picking up the stinking garbage after it has been sitting there for days. Rather them than me. Privatize the garbage and ferries and we will have no more problems. What will it take for people to realize that we are in deep financial trouble and all have to pull together.

  32. Argosy says:

    This “overtime” settlement/concession clearly exemplifies just what is wrong in today’s Bermuda.

    We are worse than broke and there “workers” and their Union are celebrating this extra drain on our economy.

    It’s a sad state of affairs and shows no sign changing.

    Bermuda is doomed to fail IMHO…

  33. Rockfish#1and#2 says:

    Bob Richards continues to borrow money to pay government workers.
    Trevor Moniz is wasting it due to his inability to stand up to the same workers.
    Derrick Burgess is on the sidelines stirring the pot for political gain.
    What a shambles!

  34. HeyBye says:

    It is amazing they need three people on a trash truck.
    In many places in the states and else where, there is only the driver on-board and he gets out and wheels the trash over to the truck and it’s hydraulically dumped into the vehicle.
    Bda needs to automate their trucks and standardize on trash bins so one person can operate a trash truck.
    Cutting back on the head count per truck,this will save tax payer money and improve efficiency.

    • charles says:

      Won’t work buh! Bermies roadside trash locations won’t allow for such a system. Unlike other places where there are curbs and cul-de-sacs, etc., we have tribe roads and limited pick up points.
      The e man team works fine. Sometimes 1 guy has to direct traffic, while the other operate the truck and picks up the trash.

      I believe the problems are the fact that we need to find ways to reduce our trash output, be more mindful of how we dispose of our trash and we need more vehicles to keep up with the demand. Not sure when the last review was done for work load per operating vehicles.

  35. Andrew Carmichael says:

    I am disgusted by the comments I have read, and I would really like to tear a few of you an new one. However, if you take your garbage to Tynes Bay, or better yet, reduce and re-use, there won’t be that much garbage to pick up. That cuts down on the man hours picking your crap up. It may also mean that the truck may be able to cover the whole route without having to dump its load.