10 —- Wednesday, February 17, 1999 - North Shore News

City vetoes compressed

Liam Lahey Contributing Writer

NORTH Vancouver City’s municipal staff won't get a trial period for a compressed work week,

Thar’s the final ruling trom city council after it voted 4-3 against a motion that would have seen city hall staff work nine days over a standard 10- day period, with extended hours each working day.

The proposed trial period would have deen for six months.

“If there wasn’t a morale problem with staff before, there sure is going to be one now,” said Coun. Barbara Perrault, who had voted against allowing the trial peri- od,

City social planner Larry Orr headed the staff commit- tee on the issue. Orr said he was disappointed council was not willing to allow atrial period to see if a compressed work week would run effi- ciently in: North Vancouver.

“Our position on the nine- day fortnight right from the beginning was we're not sure whether or not it would work and that's why we wanted to give it a crial period,” he said.

“Staff is quite willing to make the effort to give it a trial period and if it didn’t work they’re quite willing to accept that fact.”

The initial discussion on the issue was held in-camera, but was hotly contested by the councillors in the chamber afterwards.

“Times are different now, the staff aren’: getting what they expected,” Coun, Darrell Mussatto argued. “It would be nice to offer them some- thing like this ... ['m hoping council will support this.”

Council has heard repeat- edly that there is low morale running amok in the city’s hallowed hails and that a nine- day fortnight is the only rem- edy in sight.

Coun. Stella Jo Dean was- n't buying into that argu- ment.

“First we were told ic would cost $125,000 to incorporate this compressed work week, now we're told it'd cost $85,000 ... | don’t think we should spend that kind of moncy when we don’t have to,” she told council.

“I don’t think there’s a roblem with morale in this uilding ... with so many

unemployed people that there are, they (the unemployed) would dic to nave a job here.”

Ifa six-mondh trial period were to be initiated, half of council argued it would be next to impossible to rescind the program if it proved to be problematic.

In its report to council, staff offered the compressed work week model in Whistler that has run efficiently.

“A tral period builds faise expectations, I certainly did- n't think there was a morale problem in chis hall,” Perrault remarked. “And Whistler? Get real! We have real jabs with real people here, Whistler is a recreation «community... everybody who works in Whistler skis.”

ithe trial period had been approved, city hall staff would have been allowed to have one day off every two weeks, while extending their normal oper- ating hours by an additional 45 minutes cach working day.

During peak business

times for the city, such as at tay time, Orr insisted the staff would have forgone the day off and maintained working the extra time.

“This shouldn't be dis- counted as a potential benesit to the community as well as the staff\" Orr said of the extended hours.

Coun. Bob) Fearnley was one of the councilors vehe-

mentl opposed ta imple menung the program

“This sort of thing may start with the best intentions, but then people get used to it and they wet sloppy,” he said.

Perraule agreed with Fearnley and to support: her point of view, sized up other municipatities that are strug; gling with their compressed work week programs.

“We're (North Vancouver) a celatively smali civ hall with only 330° employees” she continued. “Look at other munwipalities with a com pressed work week: Vancouver has 8,000 empioy- tes, Delta has 1,300 employ: ces, Burnaby has 660 employ: ces, there's a big difference in size there. F did some research on this... Vancouver has the

work

evact same work week pro: posed teus and one can only wonder, fg hay not worked in their jurisdiction, why bring it inte eur jurisdiction? Sometimes vou have to be a fic and judicious parent and say tno”

With councillors Perrauk, Dean, and Fearnley voting against the proposal, it was ep to Mayor Jack Loucks to phy

week

the role of tie-breaker.

Thar he did when he cast his sore is opposition.

“Eve seen the impact (ofa compressed work weeks at other mumepalioes over the vears, and P think i would be a disservice to our citizens,” Loucks reasoned.

“Ef we really wanted to do something we'd have people working on Saturday.”

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