The
pride shows!
They’re there! You don’t
always see them until its minus 30° in January and a water
line breaks. They are the municipal workers who get called
out in the middle of the night to fix things. They are Alberta’s
water workers and they come in all sizes, shapes, genders,
religions and colors. Some work in the labs, testing and ensuring
municipal drinking water meets or exceeds safe drinking water
standards. Others sit behind desks and monitor computers to
ensure pumping stations and a whole array of mechanical devices
are working properly, and if they’re not, they are the
ones who get them fixed.
Most Albertans have been fortunate
to have high quality water service. While the natural conditions
are favorable with mountains providing pure and mostly uncontaminated
drinking water, little treatment is required except for filtration
and perhaps chlorination. But the system of delivering water
to homes, businesses, offices and industry, followed by wastewater
treatment, is usually taken for granted and that’s a
source of pride to water workers.
Many water workers are union members.
The President of CUPE Alberta is also a water worker –
a safety advisor for wastewater for the City of Calgary. In
his view, “our people provide a product as valuable as
the most skilled surgeon – clean, safe drinking water
– and we are mindful of the trust Albertans have placed
in us!” |
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| Privatizing
water Few organizations
are as passionate about the debate over privatizing water
services as the Canadian Union of Public Employees in Alberta.
CUPE is concerned that poorly funded and under-resourced municipal
water treatment systems are in danger of failing communities
and that multinational water corporations are eager to take
over ownership and control of community water supplies.
The fight to stop the privatization
of water is a national priority within CUPE’s ‘Public
Works!’ campaign. According to CUPE, when corporations
sell water for profit, the quality, access and safety of municipal
water supplies are endangered and the future of our water
resources is threatened.
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Good
safety record Few people
realize how important a good safety culture and well-trained
workers are when it comes to the safety of water workers.
These workers confront a variety of potentially hazardous
on-the-job conditions including, working in confined space,
exposure to toxic gases, chemicals and physical hazards, including
frostbite during the winter. In addition to these more obvious
hazards, another job hazard is contact with waterborne infectious
pathogens. Fortunately, provincial worker statistics show
that Alberta’s water workers know how to do their jobs
safely. |
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