Employees of the new return points for returnable containers are responsible for transporting and handling large sums of money themselves, which puts them at “enormous risk”, in addition to causing breakdowns in the devices reimbursing the deposit to users, learned The Press.
Tens of thousands of dollars have been reimbursed to users who brought their returnable containers to the Granby return location since it opened on April 11, a large part of which was in hard cash.
But the Quebec Association for the Recovery of Beverage Containers (AQRCB), an organization created by bottlers to manage the deposit system, has not retained the services of a money transport firm, it admits, so that it is his employees who must take care of it.
And the filling of the cash dispenser is done during opening hours, without the presence of security agents, he told The Press a person who witnessed the scene.
“I will not comment,” replied Maryse Taupier, senior director of network operations at the AQRCB, to questions from The Press.
“It’s part of the adjustments we’re working on,” she simply added.
“Huge risk”
These practices leave “speechless” Loïc Blanchard, president of the National Union of Cash Conveyors, the main union in the sector in Quebec with more than 1,000 members.
“The risk taken by these employees is enormous”, as well as for any other person present in the place of return when sums are handled, he declared to The Press.
There seems to be “a void in the procedure”, believes Mr. Blanchard, explaining that cash-in-transit professionals follow, for example, a particular protocol when filling an ATM, believing that this vulnerability will inevitably arise. to the ears of people with bad intentions.
I’ve been working in the field long enough to know that everything ends up being known through word of mouth.
Loïc Blanchard, president of the National Union of Cash Transporters
The trade unionist observes an increase in criminal actions targeting the transport of money in the current inflationary context.
His union is also campaigning to improve the regulations concerning the transport of money so that there is better supervision of practices, particularly in companies which do not use the services of specialized firms.
There is no amount above which the use of a specialized company is obligatory or recommended, explains Finn Makela, professor specializing in labor law at the University of Sherbrooke.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
There is no amount above which the use of a specialized company is obligatory or recommended.
On the other hand, “from 20 employees, a company is obliged to have a health and safety committee and this type of subject can be discussed there”, even if the employees are not unionized, he explains.
Vending machine breakdowns
The transportation of money by AQRCB employees would also be linked to the breakdowns that paralyzed the money distributor at the Granby return location, where the threshold of 500,000 returned containers was reached on Monday, 12 days after opening .
At 10 cents per container, this volume represents a sum of $50,000 in deposits to be reimbursed, but the vending machine did not keep pace, being sometimes empty, sometimes blocked, reported users who were invited to come back another day. day to be reimbursed.
“There are indeed adjustments that we must make to the equipment,” declared Maryse Taupier, denying that the problem is linked to the transport of money by employees and refusing to give more details on the number of breakdowns and their nature, “out of respect for the equipment manufacturers”.
However, the device manufactured by Tomra blocked due to the “poor quality” of the banknotes which were placed there by the AQRCB, declared to The Press the general director for Canada of the Norwegian multinational, Alain Nault.
Money-dispensing devices must be supplied with banknotes called “counter quality” in banking jargon, which are not creased, folded or damaged.
This type of ticket, which specialized carriers distribute, can also be requested by a company directly from a banking institution, but this is not what was done by the AQRCB, explained Mr. Nault.
“99% of the problem is related to that,” according to Mr. Nault, who specifies that the distribution of coins is not affected by the problem.
“Then, the lack of money in the apparatus has nothing to do with us,” he added.
Opening of a return location on rue Beaubien
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A second return location for returnable containers opened its doors on Friday, this time on rue Beaubien, in Montreal.
A second return location for returnable containers opened its doors on Friday, this time on rue Beaubien, in Montreal. The place is not accessible to people with reduced mobility, despite Recyc-Québec directives, but a ramp giving access to the back shop will be installed “in the coming weeks,” assures Maryse Taupier, of the AQRCB. The organization, which wants to establish a network of 200 places of return of this kind by the 1er March 2025, does not want to reveal the next openings “so as not to disrupt operations”, but affirms that 75% of the required premises have been determined. “All the lights are green,” assures Mme Taupier.
What there is to know
Employees at the new returnable container return locations must transport and handle large sums of money.
This situation puts them at “enormous risk”, according to the National Union of Cash Transporters.
Breakdowns of devices distributing deposit money to users would be linked to this situation due to the quality of the notes used.
reference: www.lapresse.ca