Bin There, Done That.

Local readers will have undoubtedly heard about the Petition Against Bin-Raiders of Romanian Decent doing the rounds. PABRORD has got over 1000 signatures and made the front page of the Medway Messenger.

It's a shame we couldn't get similar coverage for the Petition to Stop Medway Council scrapping it's Welfare Fund, but whatevs. 

I was contacted by the writer of PABRORD, Sally-Ann, to ask if I'd support it. I'd long been thinking about this issues around it so it took a little while for me to decide what I thought and get back to her. Anyway, this is what I said, minus the GIFs.

Dear Sally,

Thanks for getting in touch, I saw the petition on this subject on the ME Postcode Facebook Group.

I share your frustrations around public health issues. I live in central Gillingham and find foxes often come over the Lines and rip open bin bags. It's not sanitary and believe the council should create new jobs, increasing the number of people employed to keep our streets clean.

ID theft is a serious crime. No-one should have to tolerate being abused in the street. I would hope the police would deal with cases of it accordingly, however, cuts in the service mean although crime statistics have gone down, that is probably due to under-reporting.

I am totally oppose to cuts in Police Services which leave working-class people vulnerable to being victims of crime.

I can't say I have ever encountered a hoard of Romanian bin raiders myself. Sometimes people go through the bins where I live off Canterbury Street, but when I have challenged them, they have definitely been English. By the same token, I only know 2 Romanians in Medway, both of whom are doctors. I'd be quite surprised if they were bin raiding after work.

Therefore, I think bin raiding has far more to do with poverty than it does nationality. Along with ensuring we have a criminal justice system which is able to effectively deal with offenders, I think we need a set of radical anti-poverty measures, for example:

-Reversing the cuts in Welfare- including Medway Council's plans to stop vouchers for people in crisis luch as Domestic Abuse victims.
-An increase in the minimum wage to £10/hour.
-A massive council house building and renovation scheme which would create job and provide homes.

What do you think?

Jacqui Berry
TUSC candidate for Gillingham and Rainham

It is obscenely annoying when people and animals tear up your bins. But what's Romania got to do with it?

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