The confrontation between the government and civil servants brings all kinds of clichés back to the surface of public debate: the unions control everything, public administration is inevitably inefficient, we add layers of bureaucracy without ever realizing it, etc.
Published at 12:22 am. Updated at 7:00 a.m.
In order to start the Christmas holidays on a positive note, I will therefore have a counter-discourse here. I would like to pay tribute to a group that, although not on strike, is particularly the victim of these prejudices: the workers.
Ouch! I hear you scream!
Tell me about the time you saw five workers standing around a hole watching a sixth work?
Instead, I would like to tell you some other stories.
The blue trucks
A construction worker's truck is something of a kingdom. The Blues spend much of their days there and the internal organization of the truck is traditionally the responsibility of the team using it.
A few years ago, the City of Gatineau Public Works Department undertook a complete truck fleet restructuring. There were many skeptics among both bosses and employees about the ability to change ingrained habits.
The exercise was particularly necessary because the work of blueprints is becoming increasingly complex. The tools change, the parts that need to be replaced are no longer the same, certain areas of expertise now require portable computers, and the truck has to adapt. Some people even thought that we should switch to larger truck models. Let's put it this way: certain “kingdoms” needed a thorough cleansing. Why carry several similar pieces or even three or four adjustable wrenches of the same size when just one will do?
Finally, the lack of uniformity in the organization of the trucks affected productivity: those who changed trucks had difficulty finding their way around. It was time to review it all again.
The union was involved in the exercise from the start, and employees participated at every stage of the process: the skeptics were amazed. Thinking about new needs, about the equipment that absolutely had to be in the truck, about what could stay in the workshops, about the physical organization of everything, everything was done as a team.
The welders and electricians themselves renovated the entire interior structure of the truck, the work tables, the wall panels, checked all the electrical installations, etc. Almost everything was homemade.
Result ? The trucks have been modernized, they are the same size as before, they now only contain the necessary equipment, they are less heavy, use less gasoline and since the spaces are the same from truck to truck, work can be done more efficiently there.
However, the main result of the project was pride. Men and women who had previously left the second after their shift ended now decided to stay a little longer to put everything back together before leaving, ready to start the next day in a pristine truck.
The employees carried out the same exercise with the city workshops. After restructuring, we had sold old equipment, reduced inventory, recycled metal, freed up space and created pride again. Workers appreciate a job well done.
Of inventor
Sometimes workers also become inventors. During the 2017 floods, they invented a method to fill multiple sandbags at once by using orange cones as funnels. This year, at the very last minute, they managed to replace an electric valve on a fire truck with a manual valve they invented, allowing an outdoor show to take place safely.
One last little thing. Manhole covers (covers)1 are very heavy, they can weigh more than 50 kg. They are difficult to handle and can easily cause injury.
With the support of their superiors, two foremen and a welder-mechanic from Gatineau invented a magnetically assisted lifting system2. The mechanism allows manhole covers to be removed and replaced using an electric winch without having to move the truck. The use of physical violence was abolished. The invention was made entirely in-house, the device was certified by an independent engineering firm, and the technology was offered to other cities free of charge.
What about workers near a hole?
When you see scenes like this, take a photo, note the time and place, and send it to your local elected official. If there is something to correct, the city will do it because city teams appreciate a job well done!
See you in 2024, happy holidays!
1. Manhole covers, generally circular in shape made of thick cast iron, are used to close sewer manholes, that is, chambers through which one can access the sewers in order to clean them.