Low pay, long hours, violence need to be addressed, Transit Plus drivers say

Transit Plus drivers say their workconditions include low pay for long hours and violence from some clients and they blame the city's contract bidding system for the problems.

They make suggestions to improve their jobs in apetition written by lawyer Chaman Badohaland signed by 40 Transit Plus driversthat was sent to City Hall.

Its main points of concern centrearoundcompensation, scheduling and safety concerns.

"Companies are essentially slumlords being enabled by the City of Winnipeg," the petition says.

"The City of Winnipeg is concerned with the bottom line and award to the lowest bidder. The companies are concerned with the bottom line and bid in a manner that erodes basic employment standards."

There are six private companies that employ Transit Plus driversand the work conditions are similar at all of them, the petition says.

It attributes the problems to the bidding system the city uses to award contracts.

Currently, minimum wage is $11.65, but Transit Plus drivers "earn less than this when their hours worked are netted against their gross pay," the petition says.

Transit Plus schedules do not allow for breaks, and drivers are often on the road 12 to 14 hours per day while only being compensated for eight hours, it says.

A city spokesperson told CBC News Tuesday they have not received the petition.

However, Coun. Brian Mayes said he has seen the letter and he finds the concerns disturbing.

"To me, it reinforced my view that we should be seriously looking at bringing some of this work back under the control of the City of Winnipeg," Mayes said Tuesday night.

In the past, he has proposed that the city take over about 30 per cent of the program, he said.

"There's an opening here to do something that, I think, would be good for the city."

The petition suggests providing log books to record driving time, scheduling breaks, regular scheduled runs, performing random audits on Transit Plus companies to determine pay and working conditions, and implementing employment standards such as Workers Compensation benefits that cannot be cut in order to provide a lower-costcontract.

Zone system

The petition approaches issues with scheduling in two parts: how it impacts health and safety of Transit Plus drivers, then scheduling in general.

Drivers have no scheduled breaks and "are required to squeeze these where and if they can," the petition says.

Drivers may be forced to skip meals or haveblood circulation cut off because they aresitting for extended periods of time, it says.

"One driver was fined $40 for taking a lunch break, this is absurd," the petition says.

Drivers suggestusing log books to record actual driving time, as they are expected to travel 10 to 25 minutes to their first pickup without compensation, the petition says.

Another suggested option is to implement a zoning system, which would reduce driving before shifts officially start, while helping drivers stay on schedule and be more fuel efficient.

"Drivers have been promised their first trip will be near their homes. This promise has not been carried out," the petition says.

The petition also asks that general scheduling be done by someone with experience driving around the city.

Personal safety

Personal safety also needs to be addressed, the petition says.

The vehicles are not safe, clients vent their frustrationsand clients with too much luggage make it difficult to harness wheelchairs safely, cause obstructionsand create less storage space, the drivers allege.

Transit Plus drivers have dealt with threatening and violentsituations, the petition alleges.

"A driver being punched in the face by a client, a client swinging their bag at a driver still another was accused of being a Muslim terrorist," the petition says.

"In any other occupation or workplace, this would be completely unacceptable."

Drivers with concerns can complainto dispatch, but there is seldomany followup, the petition says.

"Yet, a client complains and a driver faces immediate suspension."

Solutions being sought include implementing a complaints and resolution system for drivers, a zero-tolerance policy for racism and assaults on drivers, and stricter enforcement of personal items policies.