19 August (Part 2) - Four out of five workers are not striking. Can that be true?
I was asked earlier today if I felt sorry for Cabinet
Member Peter Harold Craske to which the honest answer must be just a bit, not
all that much, but a little bit.
He has very often been the bruiser with the difficult job. Parking, park
closures and bins have all been his over the years which does not endear him to the public.
Certainly his reputation for vindictive behaviour, an aversion to the absolute
truth and his penchant for unwarranted attacks on the Labour opposition does not
endear him to me but with bins he should be cut a little bit of slack. Only a
little bit mind. It was his predecessors who drew up the wretched Serco contract
twelve years ago and created a situation from which there is no legal way out for Bexley Council.
I am sure Labour will continue to advocate an in-house service
but that is not on the agenda for at least ten more years. Craske can’t do much now while Serco or Unite make mischief but he is at least
worried about the situation, not only worried for his votes but the voters
themselves some of whom are enduring hardships he may not realise as he
introduces stop-gap remedies.
Should I admit to having a completely empty Green bin a week after the last collection?
The Labour opposition have not shown any concern for residents at all. Quiet on
Social Media, not quite as quiet on the picket lines where one at least admitted to
“loving” the chaos heaped on residents and hoping that more trucks were stuck in
the depot. It will be amazing if that doesn’t come back to haunt Labour next May.
Where I do question what Peter and his boss Teresa are saying is that four out of
five dust people are said to be working but if that is the case why are only two bins out
of five being emptied? Teresa provided a figure of 17%
strikers when reporting to Council three weeks ago which makes the arithmetic even worse.
High proportion of drivers maybe?
The duo’s
latest statement is here.