Sanitation work in high demand

THE SANITATION Service Authority (SSA) is inundated with applications from Barbadians who want to join the organisation, particularly in the garbage collection section.General manager Stanton Alleyne said his office received applications on a daily basis, particularly from young men and women who wanted to work either driving trucks or collecting garbage.He said garbage collection was no longer viewed as dirty business but an exciting career with attractive pay and benefits.“We have several employees who have been working at the SSA for 25 years and more. We do not have a high turnover rate,” Alleyne stated, adding that 61 employees recently received permanent appointments.“Those workers had been with the SSA for about five years and were working in positions that had become vacant,” he said. Alleyne also pointed out that the work stoppages and strikes which dogged the SSA for a few years were things of the past.“We have regular meetings with management and our employees to deal with any issues affecting them. We also have a team of shop stewards who meet with management on a regular basis so that we can deal with any problems that may arise and we also work very closely with the union,” Alleyne said.Meanwhile, the SSA will also be introducing a new disposal programme slated to begin from September 1.Communications specialist Carl Padmore said metal would no longer be sent to the Mangrove, St Thomas dump along with regular waste.He said items such as beds would have to be stripped to separate the metal from the foam, and tyres would have to be removed from the rims.He said the metal components would be sent to the Bagatelle metal disposal site. (MB)