MARK Jenkinson MP has hit out at the leader of Cumberland Council for ducking an urgent meeting to break the bin strike deadlock.
The MP invited the Labour leader of the unitary authority to get around the table with union reps and binmen in a letter sent on the 1st of June.
Following local government reform, refuse workers in the Allerdale area want wage parity with their colleagues in the former Copeland and Carlisle council areas.
However, the new council has so far refused to give in to their demands and has now declined a meeting offered by the MP in a bid to break the ten-week standoff.
Mark said: “To say the response from the so-called leader of Cumberland is disappointing would be an understatement.
“I sent an invitation in good faith asking him to work with me to resolve this crisis and help end #binchaos.
“I impressed upon him the urgency of this situation, with an increasing number of complaints about rats from businesses and residents alike.
“I even hand-delivered my letter because I was concerned that I had received no reply.
“Three weeks later, Mr Fryer sent me an underwhelming three-sentence email in which he has effectively refused to meet, citing a wish to resolve this matter ‘as soon as possible’, but only via ‘recognised channels’.
“But as we enter our tenth week of bin strikes, it is painfully obvious that Mr Fryer’s ‘recognised channels’ aren’t working.
“I have been able to make representations to council officers on behalf of my constituents. It is a pity that the man who is ultimately responsible for this debacle and whose duty it is to resolve it can’t find the time to attend an important meeting.
“In refusing to meet with me, he is showing contempt for the people of this constituency who I was elected to represent – and for the binmen themselves who are committed to reaching an amicable settlement.
“All they are asking for is to be paid the same wage as their colleagues doing the same job for the same council. My offer still stands – and I am willing to get around the table in an ‘official’ or ‘unofficial capacity’ if that means my constituents get their bins emptied. I would urge Mr Fryer to swallow his pride and come to the table before we have a public health crisis on our hands. Enough is enough.”
