Some Ottawa transit users are fuming not only because the transit strike is now in its second month, but also because they continue to be charged for a service they are not receiving.
The Ecopass, OC Transpo’s employer pass program, allows employers to offer discounted transit passes to their employees through automatic payroll deductions.
The subscribers – Ottawa residents who are employees of the federal government or participating businesses across the city – get a 15 per cent discount on their monthly transit pass and must commit to staying in the program for at least a year.
But since the 2,300 OC Transpo transit drivers, dispatchers and mechanics walked off the job on Dec. 10, the city has maintained bi-weekly payroll deductions for the more than 20,000 subscribers.
John Osborne, an Ecopass rider since 2005, continues to see $34.83 deducted from his paycheques for his transit pass. He questions why changes weren’t made for subscribers despite the continuing labour dispute.
“The first week or two of the strike, I thought it’s going to be over soon and they’ll work it out,” Osborne says. “But I did wonder to myself why [the deductions] extended into January.”
The city announced last week that deductions and payments will only continue for the month of January. Originally, it said the payroll deductions would be in place for the duration of the strike.
The city cites that Ecopass employers organize the deductions from their employees’ salaries. Since pay schedules vary among employers, it says it made an immediate stop in deductions “impossible.”
Executives with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, which represents the striking workers, say they are not surprised the city continued charging those enrolled in the program.
“That’s completely wrong,” says secretary-treasurer Jim Haddad. “You’re not receiving the service, and you’re paying for the service that’s not there.”
“No wonder they are saving $3 million a week,” he says, referring to comments made by OC Transpo director Alain Mercier on the salaries or fuel savings during the strike.
“They should’ve stopped [the deductions] immediately,” Haddad says. “And how will they reimburse [the users] in the future?”
Changes to the Ecopass deductions were made after members of the striking union voted 75 per cent against the city’s latest offer on Jan. 8. No negotiations have been held since Dec. 23 and none are scheduled.
A document prepared by the city’s communications and customer service branch, and given to city councillors and call centre staff, says “the city will ensure that . . . Ecopass subscribers are credited for this period of the disruption after the service resumes.”
Julie St. Jean, payroll specialist at Carleton University, an institution with about 130 Ecopass participants, says she expects that no payments will be deducted at the conclusion of the strike.
“My understanding is that once busses come back, those premiums will be waived until they have been made up for,” she says.
At a special city council meeting Wednesday, councillors decided to allow Ecopass subscribers to obtain a refund on their December 2008 deductions, on request, as an alternative to a credit when service returns. No details on the refund procedure have been released.
Osborne says he believed some form of reimbursement by the city would eventually be in place.
“I just assumed that I wouldn’t suffer unduly, and I think that’s going to happen.”
Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes declined comment, saying she would not comment on strike-related matters while labour negotiations are ongoing with the union.
Meanwhile, on Jan. 15 city council approved a number of efforts to mitigate the impact of the strike, including a reimbursement for holders of December monthly bus passes at any city client service centre.
Residents can visit: http://www.octranspo.com for more information.