2024-02-29 09:40:38
The relations of the Ioannina OTA Employees’ Association with the municipal authority of Ioannina are beginning to take on conflicting characteristics, with the cleaning sector being the one – once again – at the center of the confrontation.
The Workers’ Association is directly attacking the Deputy Mayor of Cleanliness, Makis Chrysostomou, who is indirectly but clearly accusing him of a plan to slander the workers, with the aim of making it easier for the plans to privatize additional parts of the cleaning service to go through.
“The municipal authority, after first accusing us of being thieves, in order to hire the security company it had agreed to, now accuses us of being lazy, in order to conclude that because of us, it will put -also other- contractors in the cleaning and will impose even more expensive reparations to the people!
Shame and shame was the interview of the deputy mayor of cleaning, who, speaking on behalf of the contractors, slandered all the workers, whom he “can’t find” and who “must understand that they need to work”, for to conclude that “it is up to the workers if a private company will enter”, “which is more expensive than municipal services”, but, as he characteristically said, “expensive and cheap are relative”. At the same time, he blamed the staff for getting sick, and, as he said, “they bring papers from doctors” so they don’t work, whereas, “if it was a private company, it wouldn’t be like this”. We didn’t expect them to admit that contractors are laying off workers who get old and sick. The municipal authority can do what it doesn’t know, but the people know that among the garbage contractors there is no worker over 54 years old, which is the average age of the workers in the Municipality”, she says in her announcement and asks the municipal authority “at least stand with the minimum respect towards the workers, who are crippled until old age to clean the city”.
In a second part of the announcement, there is talk of interference in the union elections by “deputy mayors – PASOK officials”, so that the associations change and the employers’ voice in the board of directors is strengthened, so that the contractors’ plans pass without any reaction .
“As the plan to find Trojan horses among the workers does not seem to be moving forward, now the city government has gone so far as to say that the city was left dirty because the union cut the pie. We could call the deputy mayor to show us even one worker, who was absent from his post on the day the Union cut the pie. However, we know that if he slanders the workers once, to bring in the contractors, he will slander ten times the union, which is their support against the struggles for privatization,” he concludes.
Fire also from LA.SY. Ioannina
The Popular Coalition of Ioannina characterizes as obscene the statements of the deputy mayor of cleaning that the cleaning workers do not work, that they take leaves and are old, and it is their responsibility whether the cleaning will be given to a private person.
“The entire ideological arsenal of the bourgeoisie and its state with enough populism has been put forward to complete the work of the previous municipal authority for the completion of the privatization of cleaning, which will further burden the very expensive reparations and crush even more the working employee relations. Apparently he considers it an easy job, apparently the green growth he envisions does not fit disease and he prefers to “kill the horses when they are old!”. It is not the first time that the bourgeoisie, its state and its representatives have resorted to such delirium of slandering and slandering the working class in order to achieve their schemes”, he says, accusing the municipal authority of not choosing to hire sufficient permanent staff rather than announces minimal positions, while also talking about a mismatch of projects and pre-election speeches in relation to school cleaners.
“So much was the rush for further privatization, that he even admitted that he will bring in the contractors even if it is a more expensive solution for the municipality. Of course, the deputy mayor doesn’t mind that the people pay for the contractors. It works for them! The point where honesty met the graphic was when, referring to private costs, he declared that “expensive and cheap are relative”. His delirium ended with his confession that he still doesn’t know exactly how many workers work in cleaning. How long does it take the “expert” on the operation of the private sector, as he presents himself, to establish this! We believe until his term is completed he will learn. After all, he is not concerned with this, but with which businessman will undertake the cleaning. After all, he was busy assigning the guarding of the construction site to a businessman without even a notice”, the People’s Coalition of Ioannina continues and calls on the municipal authority “to apologize for the unacceptable statements of the deputy mayor” and the mayor to answer if he adopts the statements and the perception of the vice mayor.