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News Roundup for July 5, 2024
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Privatizing Garbage Collection

It's a slippery slope. They contract out garbage and then what's next? The Long term care facilities? Shelters? Water? Rob Ford is barely literate. He doesn't read staff reports presented to him and refuses to listen to any reasonable offers from staff.

Just a disclaimer. I'm a municipal employee, and a young one at that. As a municipal employee, I deal with the public apparently a lot more than Ford does. I work my ass off as I've stated before, and this guy wants to come in and assume that he knows what people think?

Like DantheMan has stated, there are other municipal services that are on the chopping block. and if Ford and his ugly sister want to as Doug Ford has stated, "privatize anything that isn't nailed down" this city will turn into Detroit. Property taxes will drop, but there will be no city services. No recreational places for young families to bring their kids, homeless living back on the street instead of shelters, licencing prices will go up and it will take forever to get anything processed.

There are horror stories about what happens in private care facilities, and when the dollar is put ahead of the actual care of the residents, that is what tragically is the result.
 
shilly said:
It's a slippery slope. They contract out garbage and then what's next? The Long term care facilities?
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If they too refuse to do their job and put the public (and in this case their patients) at risk, then yes.
shilly said:
Shelters? Water?
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Same.

shilly said:
I'm a municipal employee, and a young one at that.
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And if you want to keep your job you'd best show up, never EVER refuse to work in order to strongarm the property owners of this city for more pay, and don't accept the easy route of continuously increasing pay above the rate of income increases in the private sector.
 
Admiral Beez said:
If they too refuse to do their job and put the public (and in this case their patients) at risk, then yes.

And if you want to keep your job you'd best show up, never EVER refuse to work in order to strongarm the property owners of this city for more pay, and don't accept the easy route of continuously increasing pay above the rate of income increases in the private sector.
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In case you weren't aware, they are an essential service. They cannot strike as they are under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Long Term care.
Um, it's illegal under the Labour Act to remove a unions right to strike. There are, according to the federal government, over 4 million working people who are members of a union. Approximately 25 % of the work force in Canada was unionized in 2007 for example.

I can't believe that you think it would be a valid idea to privatize something like water. I'd rather have City employees who have years of training and are highly specialized working overtime than some faceless corporation cutting corners to make a few bucks. Most employees in 416 are trade union certified before they become city workers.

I think a raise that is tied to inflation is fair. I pay for my benefits off my pay cheque every fortnight, so it's a non starter to argue that YOU, the taxpayer, pay for it.
 
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shilly said:
I'd rather have City employees who have years of training and are highly specialized working overtime than some faceless corporation
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Looks like Council disagrees. They've just passed the privatization ruling. Next will be the Fair Wage Policy that prohibits the city from working with private firms that offer lower wages than the city.

Let this be a warning to all municipal workers in Toronto. You've got it good, competitive wages, great benefits, strong job security. All we ask is that you show up for work. If on the other hand you choose to hold Torontonians hostage with work stopages, you will pay with your jobs.
 
The ridiculous plan to award the contract via the bid committee was changed today, which will give council an opportunity to review the contract again before its awarded.
 
GraphicMatt said:
The ridiculous plan to award the contract via the bid committee was changed today, which will give council an opportunity to review the contract again before its awarded.
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Good. I want the public-private proposals to be completely reviewed. I suspect the private collection will work just fine for Toronto, just as it does in Mississauaga, Vaughan, etc, etc. but we need to make sure the numbers of this plan add up.
 
We know the private sector under regulations does a better job than the unions slugs at city hall.I dont want to get into a argument about garbage pick ups but the ones in my area are rude,loud and basically act like they doing us a favor by picking up our trash...Of course any service that is related to health care and safety should by done by government but anything else should be contracted out to approve and trained companies.How can you justify paying landscapers $28 an hour to take care of Ontario owned land while the private sector pays $13.50.....my buddy works for the parks department and thats his hourly rate to keep our parks clean and cut.He started at $19.00 an hour and after 8 years hes at $28...
 
ducati0000 you sound a little bitter because you make minimum wage and you're friend only makes 28 an hour :p Private sector does a better job has proven to be a Republican myth. Looks like the police hitched a ride on the gravy train, Ford's new agreement will have 11.5% salary increase over four years. Raising a constable’s pay to more than $90,000!!! in 2014, from about $81,000 now. Not bad for someone with grade 12 and 6 months of training!! Well done Rob! Save $10 million and waste a billion.
 
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gabe said:
ducati0000 you sould like your bitter because you make mimium wage and you're friend only makes 28 an hour :p Priavte sector does a better job is proven to be a Republican myth. Looks like the police hitiched a ride on the gravy train, Ford's new agreement will have 11.5% salary increase over four years. Raising a constable’s pay to more than $90,000!!! in 2014, from about $81,000 now. Not bad for someone with grade 12 and 6 months of training!! Well done Rob! Save $10 million and waste a billion.
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Grade 12 and 6 months of training? Is that what you think it takes to get on with TPS?? You'd be hard pressed to find recent recruits who aren't university educated...
Their pay is in line with other police forces in ontario, slightly higher, but the call volume is by far the highest.
 
When it's private, there is competition, and competition makes for better service (for the most part). Without competition, there is zero incentive to improve. The big three auto makers learned a hard lesson when the Japanese began to eat their lunch in North America. Since it is unlikely that anyone can build a better mousetrap when it comes to garbage pick-up, the benefit will come with lower cost. I suspect that will be a combo of lower salaries and fewer workers performing the same task, longer runs with fewer trucks and other things of that nature.

Doctors deserve high pay, as do scientists, computer programmers and the like. Collecting trash is menial and simply can not command a capital wage.
 
Private companies doesn't mean the end of strikes, and when it comes to contract negotiations for a new contract they always want to increase their fees. Workers employed by private garbage firms are paid up to 30 per cent less than public workers, with no benefits. How does laying off workers, taking away benefits and replacing them with low-paid staff help the local economy again?
 
PCC said:
...Collecting trash is menial and simply can not command a capital wage.
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Picking up YOUR garbage may be menial, but it's a job that needs to be done and it's not a job that many people would want to do or could do everyday. Should they be payed as much as doctors? No of course not. But making the 20 something dollars an hour they make is a fair wage that someone can live off of and support a family. And after 30 years of picking up people's garbage, I think a decent pension is only fair. A private company will do nothing to end the threat of a strike, all it will do is line the pockets of the management.

So you're a little upset and were a little inconvienced that we had to store some of our garbage for a few weeks, and you think it's ok to put 300 families out of work in an already tight job market? Who's going to pay for these people when some of them can't find jobs and need social assistance? O right..
 
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