Concerns of Railway Workers

- Lyndon Isaak, President, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference -

My name is Lyndon Isaak and I am the President of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC). I was elected to this position on January 11 by the membership of the TCRC and we, as a union, represent over 10,000 members in Canada.

I have worked for CN Rail since 1987 in the positions of brakeman, conductor and locomotive engineer. I have been involved in the legislative side of our union since 2007. This involves health and safety as well as regulatory affairs from the worker's perspective.

Three of the major concerns that the TCRC currently faces are:

1. Training of New Employees

The training of new employees is governed by the Railway Employee Qualification Standards Regulations, a document which came into force in 1987. This document makes reference to a body named the Canadian Transport Commission as the government agency that the railroad companies would report any changes in their training standards to. In 1988 the Canadian Transport Commission was renamed the National Transportation Agency, which no longer holds the same purview as its predecessor. As a result, training standards have been left to the discretion of the railroad companies. The railroad's recent history of accidents, injuries and fatalities is a testament to our grave concerns.

2. Fatigue

In December 2018 a ministerial order under Section 19 of the Railway Safety Act was announced regarding the work/rest rules for operating employees (engineers, conductors, etc.). The railroad industry is required to update the current work/rest rules which were originally established in 2002. This order specifically requires the railroad companies to incorporate modern and established fatigue science in revising the existing rules. A large majority of our members currently work on call 24 hours a day with no designated days off, other than annual vacation. The concern of fatigue and its effect on our members has been an ongoing issue as far back as I can remember; I'm hopeful that at least some of our problems will be addressed in this revision.

3. Discipline

The preferred methods of discipline that the railroad companies utilize against our members are either the Brown system (demerits) or unpaid suspensions. Our concerns stem from a pattern of lower degrees of discipline when the railroad companies are busy and manpower is in high demand as opposed to when rail traffic is diminished and discipline is what we perceive as excessive for the transgression committed. The railroads seem to strive to keep the manpower numbers optimal which means that it may be preferable to suspend or dismiss employees instead of instituting layoffs. A good example of unjustified discipline has to do with our members being off sick or unfit for work. There have been cases where our members received demerits or an unpaid suspension simply because the member was ill. Some of the railroad companies state that they no longer accept or consider sick notes as justification for absence. Although any discipline for sickness is contrary to Section 239 Part 3 of the Canada Labour Code, some of the railroad companies persist in this policy.

Lastly, I've often wondered about the logic in the method which the Rules are created for the railroad industry in Canada. Currently Section 19 of the Railway Safety Act states that the Minister may order a railroad company to formulate or revise a rule for a particular matter. The role of the TCRC is to provide commentary on the rule submitted by the companies or their lobbyist. I question why any government would task a group of corporate executives or their paid lobbyist to formulate or revise a rule. The focus should be safety, for the employees and the public, and who better than the people who actually work on the railroad through the union which represents them in consultation with Transport Canada to create or revise a rule? If you think about it, the union provides the perfect balance: a focus on health and safety yet cognizant of the fact that the employers need to turn a profit to ensure the viability of their companies.

This article was published in

Number 7 - February 28, 2019

Article Link:
Concerns of Railway Workers - Lyndon Isaak, President, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference

    

Website:  www.cpcml.ca   Email:  editor@cpcml.ca