The outside and inside municipal workers with the town of Alma in the Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec have just contracted in snow removal work that had been privatized for several years.
After almost three years of work, the union representatives received confirmation today that snow removal in the Delisle sector will be taken over by the outside workers starting next winter.
Since the municipal amalgamation in 2001, private companies had been providing snow removal services in Delisle and Saint-Cœur-de-Marie sectors.
In the fall of 2017, with the help of CUPE representatives Mathieu Vick and Pierre-Guy Sylvestre, a thorough cost analysis was performed and submitted to town management. It showed that contracting in using municipal employees would be more cost-effective for the town.
So, starting next winter, outside municipal workers in Alma will be performing snow removal services in the Delisle sector. While the town decided contract with the private sector again for the Saint-Cœur-de-Marie sector, this contract runs for three years instead of five.
“We are confident that we’ll be able to bring that snow removal operation back in house when the three-year contract is up,” said Robin Coté, president of CUPE 2541.