And while the council is admitting that, failing negotiations, they will be taking the contracts to court, today the man holding one of those contracts, Rupert Marin told us that his over 200 workers were paid today. But, next week, he doesn't know what will happen.
Rupert Marin, Sanitation Enterprise Limited (SEL)
"We have been working with the council ever since the problems have started. We have been bending over backwards, extremely backwards. At 4 o'clock this evening everybody was fully paid. Where do we go from here? I need to speak to the mayor Monday morning or some time in the near future and find out where do we go.
We have been speaking; she has been speaking about cutting the contracts in half. How viable is that? I don't know. We really need to sit down and see what needs to be done, what she wants to get done, how much of what we are doing she wants us to continue doing. I can't say 50% is reasonable figure because imagine we cut back our staff from 245 to 125 people and we are covering from Haulover Bridge to Lakeview Street on the southside. Where do we got from there, with 125 people it is not possible.
As the leader of the party said, everybody needs to gather their legal teams. I have been offering to the council for some time that if you believe we can't carry on the way we are going, let's come the table and we come to an amicable agreement and we are willing to walk away from the contract. But remember we have 245 people working for us. Can I just walk to the office and say to the workers that I will stop working with the council and they will have to find something else to do? No. it is a thing we all need to get involved.
I am kind of worried about my people. I have been seeing a lot of tears within the last couple of days. I see a lot of worried faces. This thing is not Rupert Marin. It is not just Zenaida Moya. Everybody is involved in this thing. We need to sit down and decide what we will do with those people; what you want done. If it doesn't involve us, if Rupert Marin is the problem, then I will go.
We have been digging into our pockets for at least two years now, this is not just right now. I don't dig into my pocket, I go out there and extend myself with our financiers. But I think this is the limit now. The bank told me, 'Rupert this is the end of the line,' so something has to give."
Marin told us that his company SEL has paid $86,000 to fully settle all employee salary arrears.
