VAUXHALL has defended asking workers to build Lego models as part of its £8.7m Government-funded training programme.
During team-building seminars at the Ellesmere Port plant, staff working on the new Astra have also been asked to draw farmyard animals and complete dot-to-dot puzzles.
In a Sunday newspaper an unnamed worker was quoted as saying: “It's madness, you've got highly skilled workers playing kids’ games.
“We're car makers, not toy makers. These pointless courses cover up for downtime because sitting idle looks bad.”
But Denis Chick, General Motors’ director of communications for the UK and Ireland, dismissed the article and hit back by saying that that the tasks were ‘a bit of fun’.
He said: “It’s really disappointing that a member of our workforce has taken the time to make this allegation, and I’m sure the rest of the workforce are disappointed too.
“This whole training programme literally brings everyone in the plant up to speed on efficiency, environmental challenges and all sorts of stuff.
“This is a bit of fun, they are doing something constructive with their hands and minds. Ninety nine per cent of the training is very serious stuff.”
One worker who has been on the course told the Pioneer: “All of us were griping at some stage, wondering why we were being asked to build Lego when we build cars, but we have taken something out of it.
“It is a team-building idea and in that sense it works.
“There are a lot of working practices involved and problem-solving.”
