Union says Transit secretive about violent incidents

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This article was published 01/11/2018 (2688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The union that represents city bus drivers accuses Winnipeg Transit of withholding information about dangerous and violent altercations on buses that put its members at risk.

The most recent incident involved a violent assault downtown during rush hour on Wednesday. A male suspect pulled out a knife on a packed bus. It resulted in a brawl and two arrests.

“(It) was a very serious incident. There was a knife involved. A security guard got heavily beaten up and eventually the police arrived and they had to use a Taser to subdue the male (suspect),” said Aleem Chaudhary, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union 1505.

“These kinds of incidents, the union is not told about him. We’re not informed at all and neither is our membership informed of what takes place out there.”

The security guard was a passenger and not employed by Winnipeg Transit.

A 17-year-old male and a 15-year-old female, who were believed to be intoxicated, were arrested in connection with the assault. Both were detained at the Manitoba Youth Centre.

Chaudhary said that incident was the latest in a recent string of events. He said there were three altercations on city buses in the past week that the union was not told about.

The union only found out about Wednesday’s attack because a union employee was on the bus. If a witness doesn’t tell the union, it often doesn’t find out, Chaudhary said.

“The reason we’re given is (Winnipeg Transit) just said, ‘The drivers were not physically involved in these situations.’ If the driver’s not hurt or physically involved, they say, ‘That’s the reason we’re not telling you,’” Chaudhary said.

Randy Tonnellier, Winnipeg Transit’s manager of operations, said the agreement with the union means it is notified if something happens to a driver.

Tonnellier said this includes not only assaults on drivers, but also if they are taken to hospital because of a medical issue or are in a serious motor vehicle collision.

“It is usually immediately or within an hour or so,” he said. “We let them know about these all the time.”

Tonnellier said he will meet with the union today to talk about their concerns.

“We’re willing to talk with them,” he said.

Tonnellier said assaults against drivers have been trending down in recent years; the most was 62 in 2015, followed by 48 in 2016, 50 in 2017, and 38 so far this year.

“We’ve certainly put more of our inspectors on the street in strategic locations, and they have been riding on buses too,” he said. “Just the presence helps to deter.”

Chaudhary said the union has asked to meet with Winnipeg Transit brass to discuss the issue, adding they want to work with management to find a solution.

He’s adamant that the union should be told about all unsafe situations on buses.

“This is a major problem. We want to get to the bottom of it. These kinds of incidents are happening more,” Chaudhary said.

“We want to work with Winnipeg Transit to ensure our operators and the public are safe, because increasingly the safety of passengers and our drivers are at risk.”

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.cakevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca