Freedom Flyer 11

Sir: On the cablecast coverage of city hall on June 1, I watched with displeasure as city councillors roundly congratulated themselves on a "victory" in the recent London garbage strike.

I cannot see how letting the citizens of London suffer 24 days of blackmail and unhealthy garbage accumulation can be construed as a victory. If city council was to live up to its mandate to serve the citizens of London (its only mandate), it would have contracted out curbside garbage pickup the day following a strike announcement. Then, the only ones to suffer would be the striking municipal employees who are obviously prepared to put their purely political interests above loyalty and service to the taxpayers of London.

Only when council contracts out to companies who will not be permitted to disrupt service will Londoners get any long-term security of services they pay for. Though the strike may be over, this issue is far from settled. The citizens of London still have no guarantee this kind of service disruption to protect the narrow interests of union power will not happen again.

In The Free Press, Alderman Paul Yorke commented about private contracting: "I don't think the savings of years ago are there today." Yorke is incorrect, and there are dozens of cities in Ontario where garbage collection and disposal is 20 per cent to 40 per cent cheaper per capita than in London. In Kitchener, homeowners and businesses are very happy with their garbage collection and disposal, which is done at 30 per cent less than what is paid for here in London.

In that same article, Alderman Pat O'Brien was quoted: "Those jobs (of striking workers) are a right, and I won't support taking them away." Jobs are only a "right" if both parties come to an agreement and put their agreement in writing. When the outside workers of London went on strike, they were saying quite clearly that the city's terms were now unacceptable to them. Once the city's job offer is refused, the workers give up all rights to these jobs, and they should have all been contracted out immediately, while the city was no longer under any contract with these ex-employees (as they should have been correctly viewed).

The only legitimate concern of city hall should have been the right of taxpayers to receive uninterrupted essential service. This should be council's only concern, now and in the future. The only way to protect this right of the taxpayers is to contract out to companies or workers who cannot blackmail us into bending to their political interests.