• I ENJOY chatting to our friendly, hard-working, bin men and women, sub-contracted to Veolia waste management services via Camden Council. I am thankful for what they do. I value them. It appears Veolia doesn’t.

But of late I notice rubbish collections can be sporadic. I bumped into the “bin guys” and this time they cut to the chase and apologised for some irregularities.

They told me their colleagues and workforce were deserting due to atrocious working conditions. They pleaded for me and everyone else to bring this to the attention of the council and ask if they can bring the contract back in-house.

I recognise that as code for a liveable wage, union rights, non-threatening management, holiday pay and the rest. Once again a private company have been sub-contracted to run a public service. We know the gig…

To be generous, maybe local body politicians and senior council staff do not enact sufficient due diligence in examining contracts, particularly labour conditions. Who knows? Maybe they are oblivious to working people’s plights.

My plea is for Camden and London boroughs to put the interests of taxpayers, residents and the bin guys above this and other multinational corporate entities that serve their shareholders and upper management at the expense of their customers and workforces.

ANDRE LOPEZ-TURNER, NW5