Former CP Rail worker says training program has him worried about ex-colleagues’ safety
Posted July 28, 2014 7:03 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A former CP Rail employee is speaking out, nearly a week after we brought you a story about a CP program that trains non-unionized managers to be replacement locomotive engineers and conductors.
In this News1130 follow-up, the worker tells us the program was the main reason he quit after more than 15 years in the engineering department.
We’ll call him “Sam,” as he doesn’t want his real name used.
He says he heard from colleagues that the medical exam done before training is less than basic. For example, one test with an eye chart.
“[They would ask] ‘Can you see the chart?’ and these people would say yes. [They would then say] ‘Fine, now you block the other eye.’ They didn’t even ask if they could read the letters on the chart.”
“You’re running beside the cars when they’re at you know, four to six miles an hour; you have to climb on the ladder; you have to lift equipment that can be up to 75 lbs,” Sam tells us, noting the job can also sometimes involve working in minus-40 degree weather.
He says people in their fifties, people who are overweight, and 100-lb women have all been asked to train.
Sam explains he is older and has back problems, and was worried that wouldn’t be enough to say no to the training.
CP would not agree to a recorded interview, but in an email says everyone who goes through this program is qualified for the jobs. It insists no one gets certified unless they pass all the tests, and says other railroads have had similar programs in place for many years.
