Dear Editor,
The human being is a multidimensional entity with the capacity to think, make decisions and choices. This is what sets them apart from the animals.
As I watched the Evening News I was pleased to see that someone stood up for the rights of our sanitation workers. I think that for too long our sanitation workers have been treated as less than human. I do hope that the stand is a genuine one and not an opportunity after which they will be put down.
The city council has long been cash-strapped and every worker has suffered in the process; even the very Town Clerk and the Treasurer who are being sent on leave. I do hope they return to their respective jobs after the investigations.
I commend the workers of the city council for staying on their jobs in whatever section they function despite not being paid, and when they were looking forward to their salaries to fulfil their commitments, whether out of loyalty, dedication or because jobs are not easy to come by.
The sanitation workforce, especially those working in the field of collecting garbage, is being neglected. There’s no energetic, efficient attitude. Lots of energy is needed to clean other people’s filth. Has anyone, even those in the so-called higher offices of society, thought seriously about what these sanitation workers have to encounter – the stench, the fumes they have to inhale and the lack of proper protective gear in the event of an outbreak of skin infections. Are their salaries enough to enable them to seek care in the event of such an outbreak? They should be some of the highest paid professionals because they clean up the garbage of every citizen, even those in offices, and remove carcasses left by drivers on the public road.
I seriously recommend that our sanitation workers of every entity be fully equipped with all the necessary gear for such a job: respirators, boots, gloves, protective clothing, etc. They are human beings with families and an ambition to work, thus they should be treated with respect. They should be beaming with pride that as sanitary workers they are assisting with the country’s environmental plans.
The consumers who dispose of waste should display a more humane mentality. They should remember that someone is at their service, a human being like themselves, fulfilling the requirements of the Cleansing Act.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
