boh tai chee liao.
[h=1]Hawker centres spring cleaning dispute resolved[/h]
[h=2]The parties involved in a dispute over the cleaning of hawker centres managed by the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) have finally come to some resolution.[/h]
SINGAPORE: The parties involved in a dispute over the cleaning of hawker centres managed by the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) have finally come to some resolution after a meeting on Thursday among the town council, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the affected hawkers.
The meeting lasted about an hour and was held at NEA's office.
Parties agreed that spring cleaning at the hawker centres at Block 511 in Bedok North Street 3 and Block 630 at Bedok Reservoir Road will be done within a month.
NEA's Director of the Hawker Centres Division, Richard Tan said: "We note that the town council is committed to ensuring that spring cleaning is done without any cost to the hawkers and without compromising public hygiene and safety, they will do the spring cleaning within a month."
Chan Kheng Heng, Secretary for the Block 511 Hawkers Association told reporters that the town council has proposed a new cleaning method that will not require the closure of the food centre.
He said he is satisfied with how the meeting turned out.
AHPETC property manager Tai Vie Shun, who emerged from the meeting, did not want to comment.
The dispute started after what appears to be a misunderstanding over who should bear the cost of the erection of scaffolding to clean high areas in the food centre.
Stallholders from the two food centres in Bedok had said they were told by the town council that they would have to pay extra for scaffolding which they never had to pay in the past.
The NEA stepped in to say that it was the town council's responsibility to pay for the spring cleaning.
The town council has since agreed to this.
The dispute then shifted to when the cleaning of the hawker centre at Block 511 Bedok North Street 3 should take place.
Hawkers there said it should take place as scheduled in June and not in November, as indicated by the town council.
The NEA has said that the cleaning of hawker centres should take place as scheduled to ensure public health and hygiene are not compromised.
The hawker centre at Block 511 was last cleaned exactly a year ago.
- CNA/fa
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hawker-centres-spring-cleaning-dispute-r/700140.html