Oh, the Irony. A Summer of Discontent?

The supposedly left-wing regime in charge of Newham Council finds itself embroiled in a pay dispute with its own workers.

According to a statement given to the Newham Recorder,

This is somewhat contradicted by the statement issued by the trade union, Unite, which suggests that negotiations are at an end.

As to which is true, we alas have no way of knowing, though our suspicions are that the named representative of Unite speaking on the record, might be a little more reliable than a bland statement from an unnamed ‘spokesperson’.

Newham has experienced considerable difficulty in the collection of rubbish during the reign of Mayor Fiaz, being branded The Filthiest Borough in London. Still, she has engaged a new set of private sector litter monitors to issue fines to people who drop cigarette butts.

Our suspicion is that they will make very little difference to the blight of dumped fridges and beds that are to be found on almost every street corner. And they won’t be much help when it comes to emptying the malodorous household waste bins that begin to overflow and fester in the heat.

The strike ballot closes on August 3rd.