At least 38 TTC bus drivers stop work over COVID-19 fears

Dozens of front-line TTC employees at two of the agency's garages staged work stoppages Wednesday over claims management isn't doing enough to protect them from COVID-19.

Thirty-eight bus drivers at the TTC's Wilson and Queensway divisions refused to go out on shift, according to the agency.

Five employees at Wilson refused work. According to TTC spokesperson Stuart Green, a provincial Ministry of Labour representative assessed the situation Wednesday afternoon and was "satisfied the TTC has protections in place and ruled (there were) no grounds for a work refusal."

At the agency's Queensway division, at least 33 drivers wouldn't go on shift. The ministry was called to the site, but the situation had yet to be resolved by 8:30 p.m.

Green said the TTC was redeploying buses to mitigate the impact of the stoppages, which he described as "minimal."

Carlos Santos, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents most TTC workers, said employees want the agency to distribute masks to bus drivers who continue to work through the pandemic.

As of Wednesday, 17 TTC employees had tested positive for COVID-19. They include five bus drivers, one of whom worked out of the Wilson facility. Three Wheel-Trans drivers, two subway operators and one streetcar driver have also been infected.

The TTC has instituted policies intended to protect bus drivers, like blocking off the fronts of vehicles and directing passengers to only use the rear doors. Management has also bowed to union demands to let drivers wear masks on the job.

"The TTC considers employee health and safety of paramount importance," Green said in a statement.

But Santos said riders with accessibility issues are still allowed to board at the front of buses, putting them in proximity to drivers. And employees who want to wear masks have to bring them from home. Santos said even non-medical masks are hard to find, given high demand during the pandemic.

The TTC has a stockpile of masks that, as of Monday, included about 343,000 surgical masks and 31,000 higher-end N95s.

Green said the masks are being distributed daily to employees who "had previously been identified as those requiring masks for their work," such as Wheel-Trans drivers and maintenance crews exposed to potentially dangerous airborne substances.

Green said the TTC is also "actively sourcing material to fabricate our own face coverings for operators if they choose to wear them."

Santos said the union has purchased 100,000 disposable masks and is distributing them to its roughly 12,000 members. However, he estimated that, because the masks can't be reworn, the union will run out in about a week.

"It's the employer that should be providing (personal protection equipment) for workers," Santos said.

This isn't the first time TTC workers have refused to work over COVID-19 concerns. On March 11, employees at the Roncesvalles streetcar facility briefly walked off the job.

Santos said, on Wednesday alone, a handful of workers who aren't on the front lines stopped work over safety issues.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr