Ten minute loo limit for civil servants 公務員上廁所限時10分鐘

◎陳成良

Timers have been installed to prevent civil servants from spending any longer than ten minutes in the toilet. Dozens of workers have reportedly been caught out by the new efficiency drive at the Government Office for the West Midlands.

為防止公務員上廁所時間超過10分鐘，連計時器都裝上了。據報導，（英國）西密德蘭政府辦公室（GOWM）推行的這項新 效率運動，已有數十名員工被抓到違規。

A hidden sensor switches off the toilet light after ten minutes of use, reports the Daily Telegraph.

使用廁所10分鐘後，一 具隱藏式感應器便會關閉廁所燈光，據每日電訊報報導。

Staff have condemned the GOWM for the move, which was introduced in a bid to help save millions of pounds. One worker at the offices in Birmingham said： "This was brought in without any staff consultation and is both humiliating and degrading."

GOWM 推行這項行動是希望有助節省數百萬英鎊，但引來員工怨聲載道。在伯明罕辦公室的一名職員說：「有關措施未經徵詢任何員工的意見就實施，既羞辱又下流。」

"Can you imagine the indignity of being in a cubicle, letting nature take its course, when suddenly the lights go out, and you have to fumble in the dark to make yourself decent, before struggling to make your way out towards the main door to the toilets where the switch is?"

「在一個密閉 的小室中，正等待自然（生理）完成流程之際，突然間燈光熄滅，你一面得在黑暗中胡亂摸索整裝好讓自己不失體面，然後設法離開，走向電源開關所在的廁所大 門，這種屈辱的情景你能想像嗎？」

Similar changes are expected to be rolled out around the country to meet Treasury targets for Whitehall departments to make "efficiency savings" worth £11bn a year.

預期英國全國將陸續推出類似變革，以達 「白廳」（Whitehall，英國中央政府所在地）部會所設定，每年以「效率節省」手段省下110億英鎊的財政目標。

新聞辭典

in a bid to：指企圖、努力爭取…。例句：The two sides have been locked in discussion in a bid to find a compromise.（雙方持續談判，希望找到妥協之道。）

let nature take its course：片語，順其自然。本文中是指順應生理需要（指上廁所）。answer（obey） the call of nature，是指（滿足）生理需要（指大小便等）。

fumble：動詞，笨手笨腳或胡亂地用手摸索、拿某物；漏接（球）；支支吾吾地說 話。例句：He tried to explain but fumbled for words.（他試圖解釋，但是支支吾吾地說不清楚。）