Although employees of the Terrebonne-Mascouche transit system in Quebec have been reporting a host of problems to Keolis, their employer, nothing has yet been done to rectify the issues affecting the delivery of service across the municipalities of Mascouche and Terrebonne. As a result, employees with CUPE 4846 opted to demonstrate last Thursday.
The drivers want to emphasize to the public and to users in particular that the trip schedules are too tight, which forces them to work at a pace where they cannot be in compliance with the Highway Code at times.
“We understand that Keolis is managing a company and that they want to turn a profit, but if we provide poor service, there will be no profit to be made as people will change their transit habits”, said Jean-Pierre Lauzon, president of CUPE 4846.
Moreover, the irregular work schedules imposed by the employer have made life impossible for the drivers, aside from the added stress and fatigue.
Since drivers are often compelled to share their schedules and broken shifts, work-life balance is difficult to achieve, and fatigue is affecting their health. “We are responsible for the safety of our passengers. We must be alert, but we can’t be the way things are now,” concluded Lauzon.