Union calls on government to better protect TTC staff after 2 employees stabbed this month
Posted February 23, 2022 6:05 pm.
Last Updated February 23, 2022 6:53 pm.
The union representing TTC workers is out with an urgent plea to all three levels of government to work with them on a national framework to combat an increase in assaults.
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) says there has been a dangerous and alarming spike in the number of TTC employees who are being attacked and injured, including 67 separate incidents in the final quarter of 2021.
They’re calling on several changes, including creating a task force, de-escalation training, increased vigilance, and recognition from employers that an assault is a critical injury.
“ATU Canada is calling to be brought to the table as a partner of a national task force with all three levels of government and transit agencies that looks at the issues of transit worker assaults,” said ATU President John Di Nino.
ATU would like courts to punish anyone convicted of assault to the fullest extent of the law.
The plea comes after two TTC employees were stabbed and injured in separate incidents in Toronto — both occurring this month.
A 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged after allegedly stabbing and injuring a TTC bus driver last Wednesday in the Keele Street and Gulliver Road area. On Feb. 9, another TTC worker was seriously hurt after being stabbed while aboard a subway train at Dupont Station.
Anna Cohen, who spoke at the ATU’s press conference on Wednesday, herself was assaulted while driving a TTC bus in June 2020. Cohen says she still has post-traumatic stress disorder due to the attack.
“He [the suspect] hit my face and my head numerous times,” Cohen said. “He broke a bone in my orbital that caused facial deformity around my eye area.”
Di Nino, meanwhile, says this assault problem isn’t strictly limited to the GTA.
“Right across the nation, we’re seeing a pattern of operator assaults and transit worker assaults.”
When asked about the ATU’s press conference and plea for help, Mayor John Tory confirmed he’s met with the ATU and is working with them to improve safety for transit workers.
With files from Momin Qureshi of CityNews
