GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[crs1026]

The manager represents the interests of the employer. In a perfect world that would include the interests of the employee, but here we are and that's how unions got started. It seems suspicious that they have made the process linear; "an employee is first offered a meeting with management." Things said to management are not in confidence, and an employee under stress could say something that works against them in the future.

Plus, it's well established that an individual's mental health is private and not something a manager is entitled, nor welcome, to have knowledge of. It's a matter of church and state.

The suggestion that a manager can intrude on that personal space, even if well meaning, is a very archaic and paternalistic view of the employer-employee relationship.

- Paul

 

[Metroscapes]

Really appreciate all the informed insight here, and I completely agree with the sentiment that counselling should be one-on-one without management as the primary default. I do believe management should be involved second to address accommodation and work arrangements.

More attention needs to be placed on mental health services as a whole to prevent these things from happening in the first place.

Agreed, and to add, Metrolinx, CN/CP (where applicable) and adjacent municipalities should also be putting more effort into preventing trespassing in the first place (and improving adjacent communities) by improving access across rail corridors. This was the whole point of my Crossing the Line work, and I even went to the extent of sharing that data with City of Toronto staff. Refreshing that data in GIS, expanding the analysis, and creating some sort of report is on my never-ending to-do list.

 

[SkylineHorizons]

3 nor 7 is enough days to return to work. What is the standard for police?

What do the police have anything to do with it? A much closer comparable would be the TTC which gives employees 30 days not this pittance.

One does wonder if the intent of the "consultation" with the manager is to have the manager suggest that the worker just buck up and get back in the chair asap. That's not how critical stress counselling works.

- Paul

That's all it is. It's interjecting an unnecessary layer into the process, for new hires it absolutely introduces a certain degree of coercion, even if that isn't directly applied. Won't mean s*** to anyone with even a reasonable amount of senority though, especially coming from a company who's ass is out the door in less than 12 months.

It baffles me how the manager was never involved until recently? Sure, they aren't there for counselling, but I find that hard to believe they weren't involved

They've always been involved informally. Managers pick crews up from the scene afterall.

In the month of January alone I've had 6 near misses. Now I don't operate the GO trains so I can't speak for them but for alot of these near misses ive had if we were going passenger speed it would be a completely different story. Just people with bike or pedestrians ignoring crossing gates or someone taking a short cut

That's what the suits don't appreciate. CP has 3 days, but they don't get nearly as many fatalities simply because train speeds are lower and there's more time for people to get out of harms way.

In the end all this is going to do is force more people to take time off through WSIB because 3 days IS NOT enough time for most people to make an accurate assessment about the state of their mental health after having struck and likely killed someone. The company only cares about what costs less and what it boils down to is the lesser of two choices;
-giving people 7 days off paid and having less people go off long term on WSIB. Fact is more people return to regular serivce when given 7 days off paid rather than just 3
-giving people only 3 days off paid, which results in a increase of people going off on WSIB and subsequently they will have to pay a higher amount towards WSIB premiums.

But what a coincidence... Alstom is out the door come Jan 1 2025! It's entirely obviously exactly why they implemented this change in policy now at the beginning of their final year, sonce they won't have to deal with the resulting increase in WSIB premiums next year.

 

[lenaitch]

It seems a little odd that the company is digging in like this, particularly in this 'day and age'. You can't treat employees as disposable anymore. There is no denying that company representatives have a role; the employee is on-duty, operating their equipment, etc. but in the initial response, the company's primary role should be to support their employee and mitigate risk. Higher WSIB claims can impact employment costs.

To me this smacks of a turf war with the union. Somebody is digging in over something.

 

[Bordercollie]

It seems a little odd that the company is digging in like this, particularly in this 'day and age'. You can't treat employees as disposable anymore. There is no denying that company representatives have a role; the employee is on-duty, operating their equipment, etc. but in the initial response, the company's primary role should be to support their employee and mitigate risk. Higher WSIB claims can impact employment costs.

To me this smacks of a turf war with the union. Somebody is digging in over something.

Actually if you haven't noticed all companies are cutting back in favor or record profits. Team lunches, office coffee, anything that will help with morale is being cut in favour of profits.
No consideration for morale or efficiency. Profits and shareholders are priority.

 

[Undead]

You can't treat employees as disposable anymore.

Oh they can and do to this day.

 

[SkylineHorizons]

BlogTO is highlighting the burden caused by gig workers on GO.

https://www.blogto.com/city/2024/01/food-delivery-bike-couriers-clogging-go-trains-toronto/

Problem? What problem?

 

[lenaitch]

Oh they can and do to this day.

No doubt, but better employers strive not to. It is, admittedly, easier to treat employees poorly when they are unorganized, and that is a failing of our labour legislation; but in this case, the industry is regulated and the employees represented by a bargaining unit, that's why I'm suspicious that there is something else at play here. If an employee is on a paid absence because of a traumatic incident, the employer pays directly. If they go to WSIB, the employer pays indirectly

 

[Bordercollie]

No doubt, but better employers strive not to. It is, admittedly, easier to treat employees poorly when they are unorganized, and that is a failing of our labour legislation; but in this case, the industry is regulated and the employees represented by a bargaining unit, that's why I'm suspicious that there is something else at play here. If an employee is on a paid absence because of a traumatic incident, the employer pays directly. If they go to WSIB, the employer pays indirectly

You would think that given how hard it is to find and train new crews that they would treat them better. But companies are short sighted. If it saves them $1 then it's probably worth it. Even if that means they cannot maintain service levels.

 

[Garuda]

Problem? What problem?
View attachment 536911

As a sometimes user of the Kitchener Line during peak bike commuter time his expression doesn't surprise me at all lol He's like "I can add more bikes at Bloor"

I bet Metrolinx was completely caught off guard after the introduction of weekend service back in April 2023. One thing I'm glad about is that this situation has forced Metrolinx's hand to ramp up service. Hopefully they convert more train coaches for bike use.

Now if only weekend service gets extended to Kitchener this year....

 

[Bordercollie]

As a sometimes user of the Kitchener Line during peak bike commuter time his expression doesn't surprise me at all lol He's like "I can add more bikes at Bloor"

I bet Metrolinx was completely caught off guard after the introduction of weekend service back in April 2023. One thing I'm glad about is that this situation has forced Metrolinx's hand to ramp up service. Hopefully they convert more train coaches for bike use.

Now if only weekend service gets extended to Kitchener this year....

The issue is there is a physical limit to 12 car trains so adding bike cars are great but that's 100 less people that the train can carry.

They own the tracks to Brampton so they could run more trains there.

 

[Allandale25]

^ technically, just to Bramalea and a few metres east of the station.

 

[Allandale25]

GO train service – for two weekends only

CTV’s Stefanie Davis tells us why GO Transit is offering train service between Kitchener and Toronto for only two weekends.

kitchener.ctvnews.ca

 

[Allandale25]

GO train service – for two weekends only

CTV’s Stefanie Davis tells us why GO Transit is offering train service between Kitchener and Toronto for only two weekends.

kitchener.ctvnews.ca

This article was posted in r/Waterloo and someone made this comment. We'll see if this "three to four months" for weekend service pans out.

 

[T3G]

Is there any particular reason why so many GO buses are late departing their very first stop?

I use the GO bus about 10 times a month, most of the time it's the same routes at or near their terminal station. At my local stop, it is fairly common for the bus to be 5 minutes late by the time it gets there, even though the travel time is only 5 minutes. And, since August, every single time I've found myself at ANY terminal away from my home one, without fail, the scheduled bus departure occurs 10+ minutes after the scheduled time. Literally not once has it ever been on time. This wouldn't be a big deal if frequencies were quasi reasonable, but at the frequencies that are run in this region, it's pretty bad. The passengers start panicking about whether the bus has been cancelled or broken down, no announcements or information on the departure board, nothing on the website, and then after 10-15 minutes the bus that has been sitting nearby, dark, for the last 20-30 minutes pulls up and does the trip.

What is going on? I'm usually pretty understanding of the delays that plague transit, and could even understand if the departure from the terminal point was late occasionally, but for it to happen every time I take the bus seems REALLY odd.