Posted by zweisystem on Thursday, January 13, 2011 · 1 Comment
Well, well, well, the 180 control room workers, maintenance personnel and attendants for the Canada Line are taking a strike vote and TransLink is very worried. Since the SkyTrain light-metro was built over 30 years ago, the mainstream media and politicians sang in chorus that automatic metros were good because they did not need drivers and therefore were cheap to operate and impervious to strikes.
Ha, ha, ha!
What of course is true is that the automatic metro needs large control room with lots of operators and large maintenance staff to keep the 19 km., 16 station metro running. What happens if they go on strike?
The answer is simple, if there is a strike, there will be very limited management operation and the Canada Line would operate, but at reduced speed and capacity, for safety reasons. Then there is the question of liability for TransLink if an accident causing injury or death due to the strike and management only operation. The fact is, automatic transit systems are just as susceptible as light rail systems to strikes and if the Canada Line employees go on strike, it will explode another driverless metro myth, which seem all to common in Vancouver.
It is also interesting that this news article gives a hint to the number of people needed to operate the Canada Line, more than a comparable light rail line; you just do not flip a switch and the trains run by themselves.
Cardinal Fang comment if you wish!
Canada Line workers take a strike vote
By Frank Luba, The Province
Unionized workers on the Canada Line are taking the next step in getting their first collective agreement by taking a strike vote.
Because the 180 control room workers, maintenance people and attendants in the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union work different shifts, the strike vote began Tuesday and will continue into Wednesday.
BCGEU communication officer Brian Gardiner said Tuesday there are “no plans for disruption of services.”
He refused to speculate on whether withdrawal of the workers’ service could shut down the Canada Line service between Richmond, Vancouver International Airport and downtown Vancouver.
But Gardiner did say that “anybody who has experience with SkyTrain and the Canada Line knows the operations and maintenance are essential.”
Canada Line spokesman Jason Chan also refused to speculate on what would happen if the BCGEU workers withdrew services.
“We’re still in negotiations,” said Chan. “Both sides are hopeful we can come to an agreement on our first collective agreement.”
The workers were certified in August 2009 and have been bargaining ever since. The union and company have even gone through mediation.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/business/Canada+Line+workers+take+strike+vote/4092977/story.html#ixzz1AmFE0WAL
A?Ai??A?Workers on the Canada Line seeking their first collective have voted 95 per cent in favor of a strike.
The members of the B.C. Government and Service Workers Union voted Tuesday and Wednesday, said union spokesman Brian Gardiner.
“The results of the vote send a strong message to the employer that the workers at the Canada Line not only support their bargaining committee but they’re serious about getting a first collective agreement,” said Gardiner.
He said no job action is planned at this time and that the union has already applied for mediation.
The 180 workers involved work as attendants, in maintenance and operations. They were certified in August 2009 and have been seeking a deal ever since with Protrans B.C., the company contracted by Canada Line builder InTransitBC to operate and maintain the public-private partnership project.
The rest of TransLink’s services have their own collective agreements.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/business/Canada+Line+workers+vote+cent+strike/4104731/story.html#ixzz1AxPAjbIJ
A?Ai??A?
Indeed Zweis, UK & European at-grade Light Rail/tram systems, are operated by usually three or four control room staff per shift, including a duty manager and certainly no more than six even on extensive European systems like Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Manchester, Paris, Stuttgart & Vienna.
In European Light Rail/Tram depots & workshops, a team of ten to fifteen fitters & specialists is the norm. Many city systems will have let contracts for communications, signalling, power supply and permanent way maintenance & upgrading to specialist contracting organisations