The TTC says it’s being forced to cancel scheduled weekend subway closures after the transit workers’ union ended an agreement allowing members to work overtime.TTC spokesperson Brad Ross confirmed Wednesday the closure between St. Clair and Lawrence stations on Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) planned for the upcoming weekend of May 19 and 20 has been put off. Last weekend the agency also postponed a planned service suspension between Sheppard West and Lawrence West on the same line. Transit riders may welcome the news that they won’t be inconvenienced by the shutdowns, but the TTC says the closures are necessary to allow for work on major projects, including the installation of a new signalling system designed to increase capacity on Line 1, and the construction of the $5.3-billion Eglinton Crosstown LRT. “There are ... long-term costs if we let these closures slide any more. It could have an impact on projects,” Ross said.Last month, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents more than 10,000 transit workers, announced it wouldn’t renew an agreement that allows members to work 64 hours a week, instead of the 48 hours spelled out in the Employment Standards Act. The agreement expired at the end of April. Without the overtime authorization, the TTC doesn’t have enough workers to operate the shuttle buses required to replace subway service during a closure.The union and the TTC are in the midst of contract negotiations, which have gone to arbitration after the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement. But Local 113 says the overtime decision has nothing to do with the impasse. Kevin Morton, secretary-treasurer for the union, said it didn’t renew the agreement because it believes the TTC has been using overtime provisions to leave some positions vacant, with the ultimate goal of contracting out the work. “We believe this is because they have an agenda to privatize, and have refrained from hiring ...
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