Some TTC Workers Planned Work-To-Rule Action: Report

Some TTC workers reportedly planned a work-to-rule campaign Monday, which is apparently in reaction to a stern warning from management regarding the public relations problems the Red Rocket is facing. 

Bob Kinnear, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, said the move isn’t sanctioned by the union and appears to be an action taken up by certain individuals only, not the TTC workforce as a whole.

“The union is not suggesting a work-to-rule. I think you can understand the frustration … amongst our membership. They’ve been under a microscope for the better part of a month. So we understand why that frustration is now being conveyed, but it has not been initiated by the union,” Kinnear told Breakfast Television Monday.

One TTC worker told 680 News that a work-to-rule action would be implemented.

The Globe and Mail reported the “Toronto Transit Operators against public harassment” Facebook page included a message posted Sunday night reminding members of a work-to-rule action Monday. The page, which has since been made private, also included pictures of bad behaviour among TTC riders, including customers with their feet on seats and vehicles littered with trash. (see images below)

The page is apparently in response to pictures snapped by TTC users showing one employee sleeping in his booth at McCowan Station and a video allegedly showing a bus driver taking an unscheduled coffee break on his late-night Bathurst Street route.

Those incidents prompted a stern weekend memo to all 12,000 transit workers from TTC management stating that all employees will be held accountable for poor customer service.

“The culture of complacency and malaise that has seeped into our organization will end,” TTC General Manager Gary Webster said in the statement. “I hold all of management responsible to make this happen. Reviews and plans are under way to address systemic issues regarding customer service, but real change starts with you.”

Kinnear said the email failed to acknowledge problems among TTC management.

“We’re disturbed by that email. It seems that Mr. Webster wants to place all the onus on the front line employees. Mr. Webster failed to recognize the shortcomings of management,” he said. “I mean, at the end of the day, when employees aren’t acting or conducting themselves in the way they should in the workplace, management has a responsibility to ensure that that is happening. Obviously management has not been doing a very good job.”

Last month, TTC Chair Adam Giambrone announced that a group of private consultants has been hired to help the transit system improve customer service.

Here are some of the images posted on the Facebook page by TTC workers, showing riders’ bad behaviour, including littering, vandalism and putting feet up on seats: