Lisbon PSD accuses PCP of ‘boycott’ garbage collection service and communists criticize ‘blatant disability’

The Lisbon PSD on Friday criticized the PCP for political actions with an urban hygiene post in the city, “to encourage delays in waste collection”, but the communists dispute the “undisguised inability” of the current municipal administration.

“If we knew that unions were politically motivated, it would be a violation of ethics and political dignity to go so far as to have an opposition councilor go to an urban sanitation post in the city to address delays in waste collection. to encourage.”PSD Lisbon Council chairman Luís Newton said in a statement referring to the “boycott attempt”, which he considers “unacceptable”.

Speaking to the Lusa agency, Luís Newton said the councilor in question is João Ferreira, from the PCP, “who went to an Urban Hygiene post and promoted a political action there at a time when employees are leaving to go to work”citing that the sessions promoted by unions and political parties have been “constant”, slowing down waste collection, at a time when workers are being warned in advance to strike for overtime, which “means they never finish the planned circuits”†

The office of PCP councilors in the Lisbon Chamber states in a note to Lusa that: “As much as it costs the PSD Lisboa – and certainly more for the residents of Lisbon – the problem really has to do with the undisguised inability of the current city council”indicating that since the administrative reform carried out in 2012 by PS and PSD, with the transfer of powers from the municipality to the parish councils, there have been problems with cleaning and urban hygiene in the city.

“Lack of agents and resources, disinvestment, lack of coordination of services, lack of articulation between chamber and councils, lack of resources from parish councils, have characterized the reality of the city in recent years”points out, the PCP adds that in recent months, during the PSD-CDS administration, the problem has only gotten worse.

The communists recall the statements of the councilor in charge of Urban Hygiene, Ângelo Pereira (PSD), who said during the chamber’s public meeting on Wednesday that there is “a shortage of at least 170 workers in the services”.

“In light of these statements [públicas] of the responsible councilor, PSD Lisboa’s frantic explanation of an alleged boycott of the opposition that would justify the current management’s incompetence in this area sounds downright ridiculous”criticizes the PCP.

However, for the PSD mayor of Lisbon, the accumulation of garbage in the city’s streets is not the result of “inactivity” of the mayor, the social democrat Carlos Moedas, “but because unions and the left prevent workers from taking to the streets to pick up waste”†

Luís Newton emphasized that the actions carried out with city hygiene workers “are nothing more than rallies and real blockades” on the normal functioning of the garbage collection service, adding that there are reports indicating the involvement of other public officials, but have yet to be confirmed.

“We see the city of Lisbon getting dirtier and this must be denounced, because this is certain. The aim is to contribute to creating an image of dirt, giving the idea that with Carlos Moedas there is now no waste is collected”stated the social democrat, stressing that no change has been made to the operational model by the current college of mayor and aldermen to justify the amount of waste seen on the streets, a situation that “has not happened in the past”.

The PSD board chairman noted that workers have the right to strike and hold plenary meetings, but “when they do this systematically, they are clearly promoting the malfunctioning of services”stressing that the problem of garbage collection endangers public health and that partisan actions should not overlap.

On Wednesday, the Councilor for Urban Hygiene in the Lisbon Chamber acknowledged “some failures” in waste collection in recent weeks, namely because of the shortage of workers, and announced in July that an additional 160 workers would be hired.