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kamloopsthisweek.com | kamloopsthisweek |
kamthisweek
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021 | Volume 34 No. 12
#YKASTRONG A man struggles to push carts laden with personal effects along Tranquille Road in North Kamloops in February 2019 as a City of Kamloops bylaws officer looks on. The city’s bylaws department — now referred to as community services — is in the midst of a major restructuring. CUPE Local 900 president Carmen Sullivan said 11 of 30 union members (bylaw officers and custodial guards) affected by the restructuring have been displaced. DAVE EAGLES/KTW FILE
SAYING BYE TO THE BYLAWS DEPARTMENT JESSICA WALLACE STAFF REPORTER jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
D
on McConnell, 61, said he has a bad taste in his mouth after leaving the city and his 30-year-career in the bylaws sector. McConnell was hoping to retire at age 65. However, amidst restructuring of the bylaws department, McConnell accepted 10 weeks’ severance and no longer works for the city — having departed at the beginning of the year, four years earlier than planned. McConnell said he chose severance among three options offered because the work environment had become, in his view,
“toxic” due to internal conflicts, mismanagement, grievances, arbitration, stress, workload and new physical requirements for the job he believes were brought in to intentionally displace staff. “I have no problem with change,” McConnell told KTW. “You do it the right way.” CUPE Local 900 president Carmen Sullivan said 11 of 30 union members (bylaws officers and custodial guards) affected by the restructuring have been displaced. Staff had the choice of severance, moving departments or applying for the new community service officer role. Four chose severance and seven have been placed elsewhere at the city, Sullivan said.
Of those who chose to apply for the new role, a physical assessment, called the Community Services Officers’ Physical Assessment Test (CSOPAT) is required. Sullivan said five members have so far passed the physical test. The city is allowing three attempts to pass and is providing training for those who again need to take the test. Two of the three fitness test dates have taken place, with the final date, and last chance to pass for those who failed the first two attempts, set for this summer. Sullivan described the number of people who have passed so far as “low,” noting the union has “huge concerns.” Sullivan said that in talking to staff, the
physical benchmark does not match the work. She said at no time would staff need to be able to do a burpee or jump hurdles. Instead, she said skills needed for the job include communication and de-escalation of a tense situation. “When I think of going down the embankment into the transient camp, if there was a log or a fallen tree, at no time would our members be expected to hurdle it,” Sullivan said. “They would walk around it. They would climb over it. They would assess their surroundings and they would maintain their footing. They would not be running down the embankment at full speed. See CITY, UNION, A6
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