Most everyone has seen the buses and subways in large Canadian centres being sprayed down and wiped down by workers dressed in personal protection equipment. In Saskatoon the Director of Emergency Management says they are evaluating which essential services need extra cleaning and handling “resource requests” which they have received from Transit.
Pamela Goulden-McLeod gave no specifics as to whether buses were being cleaned more diligently or not and what exactly it entailed.
“It’s an ongoing process, it’s hard to say this is what we’re doing right now, this hour, because in another hour something changes and we do something different. But in general the process we’re following is, meeting the request and making sure they’re operational.”
However, if you go to the Transit website they state that the buses are cleaned regularly but as an extra level of precaution, they are wiping down all touch points like railings, straps, doors, exit buttons, seats and more with hospital grade disinfectant each night, as well asmisting disinfectantinside the busesto better clean the soft surfaces such as seats.
On Transit Driver Appreciation Day, the Amalgamated Transit Union is making demands to protect transit workers during the COVID-19 scare. International President John Costa says many of the drivers have already been exposed to the virus. The ATU is demanding of employers:
o Provide each front-line transit worker protective gloves, N95 fitted facemasks, a 2 oz bottle of at least 60% alcohol-based sanitizing gel, sterilizing wipes for wiping down work surfaces
o Provide each maintenance worker with protective gloves, N95 fitted facemasks, protective goggles, and other needed equipment
o Clean, sanitize, and disinfect buses, rail cars, stations, garages, and other high-contact surfaces on at least a daily basis
o Implement pandemic leave policy that includes at least 15 new days of paid leave for anyone showing symptoms, exposed to someone showing symptoms, and anyone with family or childcare obligations as a result of shutdowns, with no requirement for a doctor’s note
o Provide free testing and treatment for all employees
From governments, the union is demanding:
o Ensure transit agencies are reimbursed for increased operating costs and lost revenue during the crisis
o Ensure that all available funds for transit agencies can be flexed and applied to urgent service needs, workforce protection, and long-term workforce retention
o Prioritize distribution of protective equipment to health care workers, transit workers and other employees on the front lines
o Extend unemployment insurance to cover all laid off or terminated workers, including independent contractors or others not traditionally eligible
o Implement a form of universal basic income to ensure every American and Canadian has liquidity to cover costs during this emergency
o Freeze all mortgage, rent, student loan, and other payments to prevent mass eviction, and bankruptcy of the working class
