Overloaded rubbish carts are seen along the streets in Nam Từ Liêm District in Hà Nội. — Photo baodansinh.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội’s People’s Committee has sent a team of inspectors to investigate the operation of Minh Quân High Technology Development and Investment JSC following a recent environmental workers’ strike.

Chairman of the committee Chu Ngọc Anh has asked the inspectors to clarify the operation of the company over uncollected rubbish in the past week.

As of December 28, rubbish had been piled up on many streets in Nam Từ Liêm and Mỹ Đức districts in Hà Nội. Dozens of trash-filled carts were overloaded with rubbish nearly two-metres high along Hàm Nghi, Nguyễn Hoàng, and Mễ Trì streets.

In Mỹ Đức District alone, about 10,000 tonnes of rubbish had been left to stack up.

The reason was that environmental workers from Minh Quân High Technology Development and Investment JSC – the company in charge of collecting rubbish in Nam Từ Liêm District in 2017-2020 – went on strike after the company failed to win a new contract and failed to pay them on time.

A representative of the company said the firm had finished the contract and retained the workers’ salaries to ensure they completed their work by the end of December.

The garbage has since been collected by the Urenco Cầu Diễn Branch under Hà Nội Urban Environment Company (Urenco 7).

Minh Quân High Technology Development and Investment JSC is located in Hà Đông District’s Văn Quán Ward. The company’s registered charter capital is VNĐ59 billion ($2.5 million).

In March 2017, this company won six bidding packages worth more than VNĐ1.15 trillion ($49.8 million) collecting rubbish in nine districts, including Hà Đông, Nam Từ Liêm, Bắc Từ Liêm, Tây Hồ, Thanh Trì, Ba Vì, Thạch Thấy, Phúc Thọ and Mỹ Đức.

However, the company has repeatedly caused problems such as a shortage of carts and equipment to collect and transport waste or untrained workers.

In mid-November, rubbish had reportedly piled up along Yên Phụ Street in Tây Hồ District because the environmental company failed to pay wages.

Hà Nội currently produces about 6,500 tonnes of trash each day, 89 per cent of which is buried while the rest is burned. — VNS