Slacker city workers exposed by secret probe

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Slacker city workers exposed by secret probe
CBC News

City workers in the Montreal borough of Ville Marie are facing disciplinary action after an investigation showed it took 90 staff hours to fill nine potholes.

The 10 employees involved face disciplinary action.

Members of the city's internal investigation service secretly followed three work crews during their shifts last month. The workers, who earn about $22 per hour, were on a shift dedicated to filling potholes.

The investigation found one team spent six minutes of a nine-hour overnight shift fixing potholes. The team spent another 2.5 hours doing odd jobs and then filled the remainder of the shift at restaurants or at their home base.

On average, the three crews spent only one hour filling potholes.

Borough Mayor Benoît Labonté ordered the investigation after receiving what he says were hundreds of complaints from citizens about work not being done.

However, he defended city staffers, saying most employees are dedicated and hard-working.

"If there is a small bunch of activists who don't want to work, or let [others] work. These are the ones I will target," said Labonté.

The union has not commented on the internal investigation.