On the tenth day of the strike observed by the employees of the Tecmed company, the delegate in charge of the collection and treatment of household waste, transforming the city of the White Dove into an open-air public dump, the dialogue of the deaf between this company and the Urban Commune is holding an entire population hostage, which no longer knows where to turn.

While calling for dialogue and consultation, Tecmed states that it does not contest the decision of the urban commune of Tetouan to terminate the contract that binds it to it, nevertheless highlighting "its inappropriate nature."

The city councillors of the White City justified their decision to terminate this contract by the inability of the said company to resolve its problems with its employees, who have been observing repetitive strikes for some time without seeing their grievances taken into consideration or followed up.

According to Tecmed, the only solution deemed adequate in such a situation is the application of temporary management for a period of one month, effective since 20 December 2011, a measure provided for in the specifications and which "remains an exclusive right of the delegating authority and does not automatically entail a termination of the contract."

In its statement, Tecmed also launches an appeal to the commune to regularise its arrears, estimated at 23 million dirhams, while the commune asserts that it has honoured all its commitments towards the company, reproaching the latter for not satisfying the salary-related demands of its employees despite the new specifications adopted by the commune council during its October session, which, according to the city's mayor, takes into consideration and prioritises the social aspect.

In its statement published on Thursday, the commune had, in this sense, announced that it would proceed with the collection of waste by its own means and contact one of the local entrepreneurs, while launching, once again, a call for tenders for the specifications as adopted by the commune council during its ordinary session in October.

It should be recalled that the city's mayor had stated last October that the amount spent annually on waste collection and the cleaning of public spaces and arteries amounts to 41,135,272 dirhams, which constitutes a heavy burden for the city's budget.