Friday, December 3, 2021

Getting Back Out There—Soon

CLAC representatives have faced site access restrictions imposed by public health and workplace policies for most of the pandemic. And now with Omicron, we are once again facing restrictions

Newsletters Ontario Construction

By Andrew Regnerus, Ontario Construction Coordinator

We have adapted well to dealing with the pandemic. People have mostly followed good health guidance, government has mostly made the right decisions, science has mostly evolved in identifying the worst threats and best ways to stop the spread. The construction industry has adapted particularly well, being familiar with identifying and mitigating workplace hazards. Our sector has been rewarded by remaining “open” for most of the last 22 months.

For construction workers, return to work has happened every day since the pandemic was declared. You cannot replace a broken pump or deliver concrete or build infrastructure from behind a computer screen. Your site presence has not been interrupted. Essential workers have kept going, often underappreciated.

We Haven’t All Been on Site

CLAC representatives have faced site access restrictions imposed by public health and workplace policies for most of the pandemic, and continue to do so now with the new COVID-19 variant. We hope to return to near prepandemic site access once we get through the Omicron wave.

While we were away, CLAC committed to increased phone and email contact, especially with stewards. We built out mental health support and training and bridged benefits to support members impacted by COVID.

Once restrictions are lifted, we expect to get back out there!

Life after COVID

Whether COVID-19 ever gets under control—or we just get tired of trying to control it—most of us are looking forward to life after the pandemic. We are committing to “re-firsts—things that we are doing again for the first time in almost two years.

Here’s one: Before Omicron, I went to the movies for the first time since early 2020. No Time to Die is a good—if typical—Bond film. A month after opening weekend, I shared a 400-seat theatre with 20 people.

Two days later, I went to church in a building—another re-first. After 20 months of watching the service on a screen, a couple of tent meetings, and some back sliding, I joined a socially distanced, masked, partial-capacity crowd in a building I hadn’t entered since a funeral in March 2020.

Another re-first is a return to events. Some of my work for CLAC involves the tradeshow circuit. Stakeholder meetings and industry conferences that had been postponed will finally resume after two cycles of cancellations. We hope.

The New Normal: Getting Out There as Much as We Can

This spring, I have four events over two weeks: Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and St John’s. I am eager for these gatherings. We do important work at conferences. I like logistics planning and I love the engagement. I want the new normal.

I hope for another reset soon: getting back out there. The new normal is a hybrid. We have improved our prepandemic modus operandi with new ways of conducting business that necessity has added to our toolboxes. We have learned efficiency, productivity, infection control.

Meeting online is an option to bring distant people together on short notice, without the need for pandemic controls, logistics, or travel time. But the default for those who work with people is human interaction. Meeting face-to-face is usually the most effective and rewarding.

Once this Omicron wave passes, I look forward to seeing faces and shaking more hands. Maybe even getting a hug.

We’ll see you out there!

Getting Back Out There—Soon

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