System used to manage transit workers’ absences to continue

Saskatoon city council voted to extend a pilot project to manage absences by transit employees, even though the union claims workers are being denied medical leave.

Council voted 7-4 Monday to continue with a program by Bridges Health, a Saskatoon-based company, that has attempted to address absenteeism among Saskatoon Transit employees.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615 president Jim Yakubowski advised council to save money by discontinuing the program and said employees are being denied medical leave.

The program has been using the claim of “not enough objective medical information” to reject employees’ doctors notes and deny medical leave, Yakubowski said.

“You do have the people within the (City of Saskatoon) corporation right now to manage (employee absenteeism) effectively,” Yakubowski said.

Bridges Health reports that of the 65 employees referred to the program as part of the pilot project, 50 are experiencing a reduction in sick leave.

The other 15 are absent more often than they were prior to the program, a City of Saskatoon report says.

Yakubowski told reporters denying medical leave could be helping to make the program look more favourable.

ATU has filed 13 grievances with Saskatoon Transit over the denial of medical leave, he said. The union has about 48 outstanding grievances in total, he said.

A city report says extending the program a year would cost about $70,000, while moving that work to a city hall employee would cost about $50,000 more a year.

Yakubowski told reporters those costs could be misleading as they do not include costs like dealing with the grievances that have resulted from the program. Employers do not have the right to ask for information about an employee’s medical condition, he added.

Saskatoon Transit employees are not abusing medical leave, Yakubowski said.

He said in 2016, medical leave among Saskatoon Transit’s 420 employees averaged 68.2 hours.

“When I hear that employees are being denied medical leave, that really bothers me,” Coun. Bev Dubois said. Dubois voted against extending the pilot project, along with councillors Sarina Gersher, Hilary Gough and Ann Iwanchuk.

Iwanchuk said a corporation the size of the city should be able to handle the work of the pilot project with existing staff.

“I don’t see what the benefit has been,” Iwanchuk said.

Coun. Randy Donauer pointed out the goal of the program is to have a healthy workplace.

“I’m actually quite excited by this program, even though I’m concerned about some growing pains,” Donauer said.

Bridges Health specializes in providing health care to employees at the workplace. Only employees with 10 or more consecutive absences were referred to the program.

When I hear that employees are being denied medical leave, that really bothers me.