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Page 14, WhItby Free Pros, Wehiosday, April 19, 199 Hydro commission refutes union charges .FROM PAGE 1 As the preamble 'te ita ros- ponse states the, commission feele "there lias been a lot, of exaggeration about Whitby Hydro recently and we would like te shed a little light on the fadas.» The information provided b May «reinforced the commissionsa complote confidence in Whitby Hydro's management teani» the preamble states. "W. trust it will also maintain the confidence of our customers,» it addg. <'After ail, it is îour money that we are spending. The nowletter thon resgonds te, overy charge contained mn the PWU id, beginin with the vehicle dubbed by the union as the «Dul-h-oo-afMl lion-Buck' truck. kn its ad, the union claimed the truck cost almost $500 000 and is equipped with a lÏàder which can reach a height of nearly oight-and-ono-half stereys. But as the advrertieement noted, this is 20 foot taller than most utility polos in Witb. For the sanie mono *ýàùtby Hydro could have purchased two smaller trucks te do the sanie Job, the union eaid.1 kn fact, an Ontario Ministry of Labour inspector ordered the truck removed from on. Job site becauso, it was a traffie hïard, Murphy eaid in a previous.inter- view. The commission, however sys. the truck was uchas&I for $340,000 in 19e and that options cost another $980. Other options were added at no charge by the manuifacturer in return for its own promjotional purposes. The commission concïedes that the truck doms reach higher than Most polos, but 'offors an e xplanation. «Siple mathematies shows that whon lino trucks work off the aide of the roadway, as they often do, -the maximum reach of the bucket boom is reduced,» the newsletter states. 'The use of this special lino truck is a more officient and safer method of working on Whitby Hydro's growinf¶ number of 60- and 70-foot pâlos. The commission rojected the union's suggestion of renting big- ger trucks when needed. «There can ho as much as a two-month wait te, rent such equipment. Even in a non-emer-. gency, our customers would con- eider this unaccoptable.» The commission insista the truck is used on a regular basie, but admitted that in 'one in- cident» the vehicle's poitioning[ resulted *i Partial obstruction of a traffic lane. <'Whitby Hydro was informed that in such cases, flag persons muet bo provided te direct traffice. Since there were no personnel at the site teo ct as flaqpersons, the job was temporarily suspen- ded. This isolated incident culd have happened with any of our trucks." In another example, the com- mission defends management's use of Whitby Hydro vehicles. <'Four management super- visors require radio-equipped light trucks te do their UailX work and also drive them homo, the newsletter sitates. <'When supervisors are called out theyus the vehicle te res- pond from their homes. Wheh line maintainers respond te an after-hours trouble calI thoy drive from their homes te the service centre and take the ser- vice truck te the trouble site.» MacMaster, chair of the five- member commission, preferred not te comment beyond what the newsletter states. <'We've said it all there,» ho said, adding that the commission ha et te hiear officially from'the Thé union's rebuttal may not ho Iong in comig, Murphy said. While he had not yet reviewed ONLY $P799 bQ Treatza P .ZaM The Treat You Eat Like PizzajjfA~ The cru st is made-of fudge and chocolate crunch. Add lots of Dairy Queen' soft serve, and a combination of scrumptious toppings. Choose from four flavors .. . Peanut Butter Fudge; Strawberry Banana, Smartiesu), or Skor"> Candy Pieces. The DQ Treatzza Pizza>' is the only COL w> pizza that tastes better cold. Welreat You Right» 0 TM. Am DO Corp 0 1995 Am DO Corp. Mpis. MN Pinedin USA 01 'SMAATIES« s a regisered trademartk of Societe des produits Nestie S A 02 'SKOR* is a regstered trademark used uniderlicense Oairy O7ueeir stores are proud sponsors oftIhe Childrens Miracle Network, which beneffils local hospilals loir blidrenf. ~ WHITBY DAIRY QUEEN "~~' 1003 Dundas St. E. 668-5342 ~B ew Work We brew for you - no extra charge r NC. Brew beer for as low as $11.00 per case of 24 reg. botties. DUDSST. HWY 2 H A' urs:II 1390 Hopkins St. NO 10- IcJ oNMERSJ~ Unit #6 Whitby Sun. 11-3 the. commissions respoënse on a point-by-point basis, Murphy's initial reaction was one of frus- tration. Ho said the PWU ran the newspaper advertisement only after makmng no headway with mnanagement on union cost-sav- 'Îtâfàno ageewith tho com- mission's view of tho ad boinq a bargainig, ploy, but the union apoeed to wait until after nego- tiations bofore, jursing the mat- %;,ve bhen waitmng for an' opportunity to meot with the commission to, diseuse our con- cerne but the commission went aheJà and put out this piece of gag,»hqaid. "I tat's the way the commis- sion conduets itseW, thon the people of Whitby should ask 'why have a commission?" Murphy said hoe did not expect tho commission to agree with ovory item montioned in tho advertisement. «'But I thought they would at least say <Hère is a union willing te spend money -on, how* te savo coste in the system. Mayb:e <wo sihould at least talk te them" F rom hie initial reading of the commission's responso, Murphy eaid management àis «slrting around" many issues. *Usmfg, the. ladder truck as an example, Mtu'hy: nodd the bucket boom'e reach is !reduced. <«But _it ',doèsn.' awer the question oý.-f ,-the ýheight of the truck- needed$, People who go up iii the buckot-, re consciaus of what -téols and' safety'features are needed, not management»ho said. "I doubt if any commissioner bhas been up i the truck and they wouldn7t know without talk- ing te the workers.» Murphy disagreed that thé commission has no choice but te rely on management's expertise for its information. "'If that's the case, thon why do we need'a commission if ail they do is come back and say whate ver management does is fine? hé asked. "'I thought the role of a com- mission. was te represent the taxpayers. If someone makes a suggestion on saving the public money, they should look into it. Murphy said ho wilI write Mayor Tom Edwards, Town council's ropresentative on the commission, and ask hlm te tako a «hands-on approach» te resolv- mi he differences between, the PWU nd WitbyHydro. MacMaster could not bo rea-ý ched on Monday for comment on Muirphy's romarks. But in the newsletter, the com- mission said the union's cost- saving proposaIs were made dur- ing the provincial social contract negotiations. 'It is incorrect te say that the suggestions were ignored,» the commission states. <'However, the social contract; Asfor May's alleged perks, there is a «high-low» table with four chairs and a washroom. "The table is raised and lowered electrically, which in our business is hardly unusual and definitely not magie," the news- letter notes. <'Tere is a two-piece wash- room located between the mana- cr'doffice and -the commission ard oom.It is8 only private if yrou remember te lock tho door," it adds. ci ~ di rt W~a r.i .& ci T Ci T ci W ci!! i'~ ~S T['~ (~I r <~ T Ci !t &!J 'à ~ N ~ là Loi aU ~ lU t S-N F i. Hw. 2 BOunlop St.E . inlues4%ih.&rChip &- Large CSt!sqaw Famil Pac (Hadock)16.9 $2~T OF incldes4 Fsh 3 hip & Larg 'DnlopSretEs MAINTENANCE FREE VINYL CALEFORNIA SHUTTERS, by Vinylbilt 1 FREE SHOP AT HOME 1