WINNIPEG – Recent polling results show that Winnipeggers favour in-house garbage and recycling collection by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 compared to having those same services provided by private companies.
“Recent polling indicates that there is strong support among Winnipeggers for in-house service delivery by City workers,” said Gord Delbridge, President of CUPE Local 500.
These results were part of a series of questions asked for the Canadian Union of Public Employees in a September 13 - 26, 2016 Probe Research poll. The random polling sample of 600 Winnipeg adults is considered 95% accurate within /- 4.0 percentage points compared to a sample size of the entire Winnipeg adult population.
Respondents were asked the following questions:
- Before signing any new contracts, should the City of Winnipeg look into providing residential garbage, recycling, and yard waste collection using city workers and equipment?
- If the cost was roughly the same, would you prefer the City of Winnipeg use private companies, or City of Winnipeg employees to collect residential garbage, recycling, and yard waste?
Responses to both questions show strong support for the in-house waste collection option.
Fifty-nine percent of poll respondents answered that the City should look into using City workers and equipment, compared to thirty-two percent who did not agree with that approach.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents favoured using City employees compared to 32% for private companies.
The Probe polling was conducted prior to the recent news that the City had not carefully studied the in-house service delivery model for residential garbage and recycling collection. CUPE Local 500 has many questions that remain unanswered, and is not satisfied that the City has fulfilled its obligations. Under the Request for Proposals issued by the City for Area 1 and Area 2 waste and recycling services, the City should have explored whether it could offer the same services at an equivalent or cheaper cost.
“I have a duty not only to protect and promote good jobs, but also good value for Winnipeggers,” said Delbridge. “Other cities have saved money and improved services with City employees.”
Concluded Delbridge: “It’s time for the City to bring waste collection back in-house.”
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For more information, please contact:
Gord Delbridge,
President, CUPE Local 500
942-1001 (office) 204-391-2924 (cell)
Liz Carlyle,
CUPE Communications Representative
204-942-0343 (office) 204-979-7741 (cell)
