TORONTO

The transit workers’ union is threatening to launch a work-to-rule campaign over TTC’s plans to contract out bus cleaning.

If the transit commission decides to outsource cleaning of buses at a meeting Thursday, workers would only do the minimum required of their contract, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 president Bob Kinnear said Friday evening.

That, in effect, would reduce the city’s transit to a crawl.

“You can call it what you want, we will be adhering to the collective agreement,” Kinnear said.

“If they do that, things slow down. It’s not our members to slow the operations of the TTC, it will be follow the parameters of the collective agreement. Which means, if you’re in a 40 km/h zone, you don’t go 45. There are ways we can communicate our displeasure.”

Another option the union is contemplating is refusing to sign a joint letter the TTC submits annually to the provincial Ministry of Labour, which exempts TTC employees to work up to 64 hours a week – 16 hours more then their standard 48-hour workweek.

“If we simply choose not to do that – which we have every right in the world to do – then that will cause a hardship for the TTC,” Kinnear said. “The TTC has often conveyed overtime is a savings to them. If we decided not to sign that, it would cost the TTC on an annual basis anywhere from $10-million to $13-million.”

By contracting out 159 union jobs, it would save the TTC $4.29 million a year.

A TTC staff report recommends two-year contracts – worth a combined $7.25 million – with Hallcon Corporation and Topnotch Buildings.

“We’re suggesting the commissioners contemplate their course of action and we’ll take it from there,” Kinnear said. “To suggest you’re going to contract out the lowest-paid workers to save a couple million in the most effective transit system is a false economy.”

TTC spokesman Brad Ross said there would be no job losses through the decision to outsource cleaning and said he wouldn’t speculate whether the TTC would be ready to deal with a work-to-rule campaign.

“There is language in the collective agreement that requires management to notify and inform the union of our intention to consider contracting out,” he said.

“Worked with them to find a solution in-house. We were unable to come to an agreement on that. Then we informed them as per the agreement our intention to contract out, so the TTC has followed the letter of the collective agreement and our expectation is the union will do the same with respect to action they may or may not take.”