Ministry: West Zones Trash Has Been Collected
The Ministry of Public Works said that as of 5pm today [June 25], garbage collection in the West Zones has been completed, and crews are now focusing on the East Zones which they hope to have cleared by the end of day Wednesday.
The delay in garbage collection was caused by the industrial action at the Government Quarry. Locals have been complaining about the unsightly trash buildup around the island, with many stating their neigbourhoods are starting to have a foul odour due to it. Garbage collection workers are now working overtime to clear the backlog.
Minister of Public Works Trevor Moniz said, “While we are doing our utmost to work within the constraints of an already restricted budget, the safety and health of the residents had to take precedence.
“Therefore, I took the decision on Monday to authorize overtime to immediately address the backlog of garbage that had piled up around the island. This backlog was further compounded by the public holiday last Monday”.
The Minister went on to say that, “This wildcat strike and sympathy action by other workers was not legal and the Minister will be seeking advice from the Attorney General as to the way forward should such action be considered in the future.
“That the safety and health of the residents should not be put at risk when workers decide to take action because they are not in agreement with a management decision. There is a process that is clearly outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement which must be followed. And this process is for both the employer and the respective Unions to abide by”.
The Ministry said they would like to thank the residents for their continued patience and apologizes for the inconvenience caused over the past week.
maybe the threat of people taking their trash to the biu dump office has woken these guys up!
Thanks to everyone for doing their job. And we wonder why people don’t want to invest in Bda.
Smell like doo doo down hur….ea$t is d best y u didn’t get us guys first?!?!!?
cus on August 2nd West is gonna be crying but at least the trash is gone..
BE WATCHFUL ALWAYS!!
So the garbage workers went on a strike that was “not legal”, and can now be paid overtime to catch up. No wonder Bermuda is in a mess.
Let me get this right – a sympathy wild cat illegal strike (or work stoppage) was the cause
of the garbage backlog!
Now the same workers are getting paid overtime to clear-up the mess they caused by not being at
work and getting paid to strike!
Nice one – might try that myself! But wait – it wouldn’t happen anywhere!
Bermuda should sue the BIU for the overtime their members stole from the taxpayers. Then the union should be disbanded.
UNION is here to stay. Get over it LOL!!!
I agree with Billy Mays. This apparently illegal work stoppage by BIU and its members was another major embarrassment and a costly inconvenience for Bermuda. When will they learn? There was no reason for this nonsense. None. This union has done so much damage to Bermuda over the past few years.
Next time, & you just know there will be a next time until privatised, take your trash & dump it at either Furbert’s house or Burgess’s. Whichever is more convenient. Back up dumping places could be the homes of any of the W&E staff on strike.
Sorry folks, but Minister Moniz got it right on this one when he said, “the safety and health of the residents had to take precedence.”
Now he’s taking legal advice from the AG as to what action could be taken moving forward. I often have sympathy for workers who are badly treated but on this occasion it appears that this was a wildcat, illegal action, and should not be condoned.
this is a weak government. They allow the union dictate to them. The country has no money and we are doing things like this. Dr Brown would of stood up to this. I support the new government, but I am loosing faith. Nothing much has changed, the BIU are still allowed to rule even when they are wrong.
why does it take over a week to clear 2 days backlog….or is that the normal W&E speed
It was more than 2-day’s backlog. As long as the garbage was not picked up residents kept adding and adding, so it ended up being more than 4-days backlog and it was very, very unpleasantly odorous.
Concerned,
“Dr Brown would of stood up to this”
True, that is because he bailed the BIU of a huge financial mess with taxpayer funds. And thanks to a weak Finance Minister, was in a position to repeat that if necessary.
Let’s talk about the odour for moment. While this is merely a suggestion I off a slight solution.
Maybe if some of you would just consider using a large trash can insted of just throwing your bag of trash on the street it might help reduce the smell. My neighbourhood does not smell as we all use trash cans.
Try it you might like it.
Oh and stop complaining about something that has no additional fee to pay because I have family abroad who have pay additional for this service. YOU ARE ALL SPOILED ROTTEN LIKE THE TRASH