Calgary Transit Union President Warns of Service Outages Related to City’s Vaccination Policy – Calgary | The Canadian News

Calgary Transit operators are leaving work at a rapid pace and the union that represents them says it will have an impact on the people who take the bus or train.

“The resignations are unprecedented,” said Mike Mahar, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 583.

Mahar said 175 employees have left or fulfilled their intention to leave since January.

In the last two to three weeks alone, he said there have been about 25 resignations.

On top of that, Mahar said there are 12 staff members who are on unpaid absences due to the city’s vaccination policy.

“They do not want to participate in the mandatory vaccination policy and / or they have simply had enough. They have struggled with the way the employer has dealt with a pandemic for almost two years, ”Mahar said.

The deadline for city employees to report their COVID-19 vaccination status was November 1. Workers who are not fully vaccinated must provide a negative rapid test result twice a week in order to remain on the job.

If an unvaccinated worker fails an exam, they will be assigned a 30-day unpaid leave.

Mahar believes the city will end up losing drivers as a result of inadvertent failure to comply with rapid tests.

“They have agreed to participate in the rapid tests and, through no fault of their own, have failed to qualify according to the very precise rules of the policy,” Mahar said.

In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for the City of Calgary said:

“We have placed some employees on leave for non-compliance, however we do not anticipate any significant service interruptions as a result. We are currently reviewing the data and will share updated figures later this month. “

Mahar maintains that the buses are overcrowded and the system has been operating at a minimal staff level.

In May 2020, more than 400 public transport workers were laid off due to low passenger numbers.

Mahar expects the remaining 75 laid-off transit workers to return to work by the end of the year.

According to the city, Calgary Transit still operates about 85 percent of pre-COVID service with about 40 percent of pre-COVID passenger numbers.

“Depending on the circumstances, we have a number of strategies that we can use to adjust service to respond to various situations, such as adjusting bus schedules, using overtime to cover smaller workpieces, and utilizing our bus operators. spare to cover the job. Currently, our service has no major impacts due to vaccination policy, ”said Stephen Tauro, Calgary Transit Communications and Information Leader.