Road maintenance firm admits it didn’t meet standards

The B.C. Government and Service Employees Union is calling on a road maintenance company to ensure they’re meeting the standards in their ten-year contract with the province.

The union issued a news release Thursday, citing concerns about Acciona Infrastructure Maintenance Inc., (AIM) following a recent incident in Cherryville where a school bus with children on board, became stuck in a ditch due to snowy road conditions.

“Highway maintenance employees are some of the most conscientious people that care for the safety of all stakeholders on B.C. highways,” said BCGEU president Stephanie Smith. “They have done so for decades and will continue to do their best with the tools they are given.”

The union says in 2017 a landmark successorship agreement was reached to ensure the retention of over 2,000 experienced workers to maintain roads and bridges throughout B.C.

“When Acciona was awarded two new maintenance contracts in the Okanagan earlier this spring, they were required to honour the labour agreements already bargained with existing workers. This ensured that their staff had decades of experience and knowledge of what it takes to keep roads safe in their region,” stated the news release.

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“When an incident or accident occurs, it’s emotional for all of us working on B.C. roads,” said BCGEU operational services component vice president Rory Smith. “Our members continue to strive to provide their expertise and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.”

AIM contract manager Greg Ehman admits the service provided broke down that day.

“We acknowledge that we did not meet the maintenance standards in that particular storm in Cherryville, particularly on the lower classed roads, the C and D routes. It was a heavy snowfall — heavier than we had anticipated — so we fully acknowledge that. It was no fault of our employees. They do an excellent job,” Ehman told Vernon Matters.

Ehman says on that day, they had a couple of equipment break downs that caused challenges.

“The crews did the best they could to respond to what happened. Our understanding is that, in discussions with the School District and Ministry, is that the bus actually pulled over to allow a logging truck to pass, and the back wheels slid off the shoulder of the road. So at no time were the kids in danger.”

Ehman says despite that incident, he feels they are getting very positive support on social media for their maintenance in other areas.

“The Shuswap area, where we’ve been absolutely hammered with snow — Tappen, Salmon Arm, north into Sicamous — we’ve done a really good job.”

Ehman says they take all public comments seriously.

“I encourage you to look at our Facebook page. More importantly look at the Shuswap and Vernon area road reports. They are two that we’re focusing heavily on. We’re actively posting where our equipment is, what our deployments are. Our goal is to provide information.”

Ehman says one of the changes they made was to have a dedicated communications centre specific to their operations.

“They’re available 24/7. They’re monitoring social media. They have a direct link to our employees. They can see exactly where our crews are working and are able to respond very quickly.”

Ehman says the maintenance standards are established by the province.

“They may not always meet everyone’s expectations even though we’re meeting them. But that’s just the nature of the business — snow removal is a difficult job.”

Moving forward, the union says it will continue to work with members to ensure they are treated with respect by their employer and will be monitoring the situation in the Okanagan.

“The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure also has staff monitoring standards in each of the 28 service areas in B.C.’s highway maintenance system, and many times they are working through a storm event to monitor the level of performance of the contractor. In follow up to the concerns in Cherryville, the Ministry has advised that they are meeting with Acciona and the local school district,” said the BCGEU release.