Six days after the start of the strike, nearly 600 tonnes of waste accumulated in the Marseille city. Garbage collectors from two districts of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) returned to work this Thursday, October 31, after reaching an agreement with the management of a Veolia subsidiary, the CFDT informed AFP.
“We reached an agreement and work resumed. The company has agreed to provide additional human and material resources,” indicated Denis Ferrandino, departmental secretary of the CFDT for this sector of activity.
Numbers doubled
The management of Veolia, to which the Bronzo company depends, responsible by the Metropolis for cleanliness and garbage collection in the 3rd and 14th arrondissements, confirmed the signing on Thursday of an agreement to end the strike. “We are making sure to double the workforce today to collect the accumulated waste as quickly as possible,” said a spokesperson.
In the 3rd arrondissement, located near Saint-Charles station and where 53,000 people live, containers are overflowing and trash bags have accumulated on the road, as in the neighboring 14th arrondissement where 60,000 people live.
The 160 Bronzo agents responsible for collecting waste and cleaning the sidewalks denounced the lack of resources. “We wonder if the Metropolis has the will to put the resources into these poor districts,” Denis Ferrandino asked. Marseille, the second largest city in France, regularly experiences strikes linked to waste collection, a service which depends on the Metropolis.