The crisis threatens the cleaning service in cities

The economic crisis and the "suffocation" they say suffer the municipalities can begin to be felt in something that people perceive nothing but put a foot outside your home: the garbage disposal. The association that brings together companies that provide this public service in 3,500 counties (out of 8,000) is studying the possibility of quitting at the delay increased the sessions to pay the bills each month. The battle over debt The news on other websites Websites in Spanish in other languages "Some mayors are using us as banks," the bosses protest "The law sets a maximum of two months to pay, the average was already in almost six months, but lately the delay has come to eight months. We understand that the municipalities are experiencing serious difficulties, but some are using us as banks, and we are not banks, "protest Jardón Francisco, president of the Association of Public Cleansing (Aselip), which brings together some thirty entities (including subsidiaries of giants such as FCC, Ferrovial and ACS), employs 90,000 people and is responsible for refuse collection and Flushing of the streets in all major cities except Sevilla, Palma de Mallorca, Valladolid and Gijon. Jardón ensures that cases are being no-where-in said that the company awarded the service has decided to cancel the contract and fail to clean up. "We do not want to alarm, but the law allows to terminate the contract if payment is delayed more than six months. Although this is, for now, in small towns, could go further if the situation worsens," says. Why do you complain at this time, if ever there have been delays? "Because since January we have detected a deterioration very, very fast in payments. And we do not have another client: if the municipalities fail to pay, some companies may founder. Before you faced a case of a municipality that did not pay in time, now we fear that it becomes something general, "says the entrepreneur. Aselip not know what was the amount of profits in the sector last year when he was still a good time. The association believes that as the cleaning contracts are of long duration (average age 10), municipalities tend to rely and delay the payment of the monthly bill, plus now they are with the water crisis around his neck. But he also believes the Executive José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero could do much to help. "We support the claims of local councils: that the Government will amend the law on budgetary stability to allow them to incur a deficit as the autonomous communities. If the Government is prepared to inject 50,000 million in its plan to rescue the bank could take this one measure to save the private sector that manages public services, "argues Jardón. The municipalities are "very bad" and companies are calling "his own". To begin with, will require the recovery of interest for delay to the Contracts Act establishes when the delay in payment is too high. "We are talking about a 11.2% on the bill," warns the association. Already there are companies that charge to their city councils, but now will be "in general". Aselip has begun to ask for interviews with officials from large cities to raise the issue. Madrid, for example, has gone to pay three months to do it in five. "And that, in large municipalities, the case is less bad," says Jardón. "In small towns there are extreme situations. The whole province of Granada, except the capital, and Cadiz ... There are places where it takes a year to recover." Madrid City Council, the largest of Spain, admitted that the crisis is slowing down payments to companies that manage services. "We're going to try that this will not affect small businesses, such as those undertaken by home care, but with big it is happening. We can not do otherwise, we suffocated," the Consistory warrant from Madrid.