TTC union loses bid to pause transit agency’s mandatory vaccine policy

Unionized TTC workers have lost their bid to have the transit commission’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy put on hold.

ATU Local 113, which represents close to 12,000 TTC workers, had asked the court to pause the TTC’s ability to put any employee on unpaid leave or terminate their employment until the matter is decided before an arbitrator.

“This fight has never been about vaccinations, but rather about defending rights and saving jobs while still protecting public health,” ATU president Carlos Santos said in a statement on Saturday.

“While I had hoped the Court would put a stop to this policy while we fought in arbitration, I am confident we will ultimately prevail.”

The TTC says employees who remain unvaccinated or have not shared their status by the end of the day on November 20th will be placed on unpaid absence. Anyone who does not comply with the mandate by the end of the year will be fired. The measures do not apply to employees with an approved Ontario Human Rights Code accommodation or medical exemption.

The TTC says roughly 90 per cent of the 15,061 active employees have shared their COVID-19 vaccination status.

“We know that getting vaccinated is one of the most important things that people can do to put the pandemic behind us. As an essential service, we need the TTC to be a safe place for everyone,” TTC chief Rick Leary said in a statement on Saturday.

Santos has called the TTC policy one of the most punitive of all transit agencies in Canada, pointing out the inconsistency of the policy which does not require passengers to be vaccinated.

“Instead of firing workers, the TTC can keep our workplace safe by offering regular testing for the small percentage of workers who do not wish to receive the vaccine,” he reiterated. “This measure has already been successfully executed with Mississauga Transit and Brampton Transit and can be safely adopted in Toronto as well.”

The TTC has already warned that service cuts are coming due to staffing shortages caused by the agency’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The agency says it will continue to protect service on the busiest routes.

Shelagh Pizey-Allen, spokesperson for TTCriders.ca, says any transit cuts mark a failure of leadership from all levels of government. She says the TTC and the city had months to plan for any looming staff shortages.

“We are asking ourselves, why didn’t they do a hiring blitz months ago?,” said Pizey-Allen. “These cuts are unacceptable, they are going to hurt people who have been impacted by the pandemic the most.”

TTCriders is calling on the city to extend the deadline for the mandatory vaccine policy and provide emergency funding to the TTC to help avoid any service cuts.

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With files from CityNews reporter Michelle Mackey