The country’s capital is facing a strike by waste collection workers on the city’s streets.
What’s worse, it’s happening at a time when this waste tends to accumulate more massively, on Christmas and New Year’s days.
Urban Hygiene workers have announced stoppages on December 26 and 27, and a strike on overtime work between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, with a stoppage of these services at night, between 10pm on January 1 and 6am on January 2, in a statement issued by the Lisbon Municipal Workers’ Union (STML), anticipating that these periods could have a significant impact on urban cleaning in Lisbon.
In a statement on the Lisbon City Council’s website, Mayor Carlos Moedas met on December 18 with several presidents of the city’s parish councils to discuss measures that could mitigate these negative impacts on the city’s cleaning,
There was total solidarity and availability. This is everyone’s problem and we all have to solve it. I respect the right to strike, but I call on the unions to come and negotiate. It’s not fair on Lisbon residents or the workers who keep our city clean.”
The country’s capital alone generates more than 900 tons of waste a day, and this stoppage could have serious consequences for public health and the environment.
Therefore, and as a measure to minimize the effects of the strike, a contingency plan was drawn up at the meeting which includes:
- Creation of a crisis management team, which will be available 24 hours a day to support the parish councils most affected by the strike;
- Distribution of larger (construction)containers in priority areas;
- Public awareness campaigns calling for a reduction in solid waste, especially cardboard and other bulkier materials;
- Teleworking for CML employees, with a similar incentive for the private sector;
- Requesting large producers to carry out their own collections;
- Collaboration with neighboring municipalities, so that some of their resources can be used.
Temporary waste garbage cans
Even if all the measures announced above have some kind of effect, it is inevitable that garbage will accumulate on city streets.
That’s why Lisbon City Council has installed 57 special waste bins in the city’s 24 parishes, in an initiative aimed at reducing the disruption caused by the staff strike.
According to the council, these bins should only be used as a last resort and it is still recommended that residents try to store as much recyclable waste as possible in their homes, especially paper and packaging, during this period.
What’s at stake?
The waste collection workers’ unions justify this strike by the lack of adequate responses from the municipality, and the executive has already shown itself to be fully willing to listen.
At the same time, the Court will decide on the mandatory minimum services to be applied during the garbage collection strike period, and there is already a lot of concern in society about the impact this stoppage could have on one of the busiest periods of the year.