Hundreds of TTC workers face suspension after union loses judicial bid to stop Toronto transit agency’s vaccination mandate

The TTC is scheduled to suspend hundreds of employees starting Sunday after the transit workers union lost an offer to prevent the agency from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Local 113 Amalgamated Traffic Union filed an application with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on November 4 asking for a court order preventing TTC from disciplining members who failed to comply with its mandatory vaccination policy, which takes effect on November 21. He argued that the execution should be suspended until an arbitrator decides on a complaint the union has filed against the mandate.

In a decision published Saturday, Judge Jasmine Akbarali denied the union’s request and concluded that Local 113, which represents some 12,000 TTC workers, had not proven that failure to grant the court order would cause irreparable harm to members. It also found that the TTC would suffer greater negative repercussions than the union if the court granted the court order.

In a statement in response to the ruling, TTC CEO Rick Leary said that safety “is a core value at TTC” and that “ensuring the safety of our employees and customers is the reason we introduced the policy of compulsory COVID-19 vaccination “.

“We know that getting vaccinated is one of the most important things people can do to leave the pandemic behind. As an essential service, we need the TTC to be a safe place for everyone ”.

Local 113 president Carlos Santos called the ruling disappointing, but vowed to continue challenging the mandate.

“We believe that the TTC policy of suspending and firing unvaccinated workers is unfair and will be overturned in arbitration. While I expected the court to end this policy while we fought in arbitration, I am confident that we will ultimately prevail, ”he said in a statement.

The court heard the requests in the case on Wednesday urgently, and Local 113’s attorneys claimed that if the court order was not granted, its members would suffer irreparable harm because they would “be forced to undergo an unwanted medical procedure or lose their income “.

Judge Akbarali rejected that argument and agreed with the TTC’s position that allowing unvaccinated employees to continue to attend work would pose a risk to their workforce and their passengers.

“Fundamentally, I do not accept that the TTC vaccine mandate policy requires anyone to get vaccinated. It will force employees to choose between two alternatives when they don’t like either of them, “he wrote, adding that” the potential for unvaccinated workers to transmit COVID-19 to their co-workers or passengers is a risk that the TTC does not. should have to face. to accept.”

The judge emphasized that her ruling does not determine whether the vaccine mandate is correct or incorrect, and it will depend on the complaint arbitration process to decide whether it violates the collective agreement between the union and the transit agency.

The TTC published its vaccination mandate on September 7. With limited exceptions for human rights reasons, employees who fail to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated by the end of Saturday will be suspended without pay. Those who do not receive their shots will be fired as of December 31.

According to court documents, as of October 26, approximately 15 percent of Local 113 members had not yet disclosed their immunization status to the TTC. The union’s lawyer told the court that between 1,200 and 1,700 members faced disciplinary action for not following the mandate.

The high number of potentially affected workers has prompted the TTC to announce that it will cut service by about 8 percent starting Sunday.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto reporter covering Star transportation. Contact him by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

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Reference-www.thestar.com

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