72% of ICBC driving examiners report physical or verbal abuse, survey finds
'They know people aren't happy when they fail a road test, but they shouldn't be abused for doing their job'
Getting a licence can be a stressful time for new drivers, but a new survey is revealing the impact on those in charge of roadside exams.
MoveUP, the union that represents ICBC employees, found 72 per cent of ICBC driving examiners it polled across British Columbia reported being verbally or physically assaulted in the past 12 months.
"They know that people aren't happy when they fail a road test, but they shouldn't be abused for doing their job and making sure the roads are safe," said Annette Toth, vice president of MoveUP.
According to ICBC spokesperson Joanna Linsangan, there are a number of policies and procedures in place to address unacceptable and inappropriate behaviour from customers.
"The safety, wellness and security of our employees is paramount. Acts of violence or any other type of abuse against our employees is absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated," she said.
'It can do a lot of damage'
MoveUP represents employees at 90 different companies, including Coast Mountain Bus Company, which took steps two years ago to protect call-centre staff from abusive phone calls.
Alicia Gallo, a MoveUp union representative, used to work at the Coast Mountain Bus Company call centre. She said she encountered verbal abuse from callers on a daily basis.
"I've been called stupid. I've been told that I'm probably ugly," she said.
Staff answer about 4,000 calls per day from the public, taking questions about everything from schedules, bus routes and fares to lost and found items.
The company previously had a policy requiring staff to give callers three warnings before they could hang up, but since 2016 staff have been allowed to terminate calls after one warning and report them to their work leader for investigation.
'When you're trapped in a situation where somebody is berating you on the phone and you have no recourse to hang up that phone call, it can do a lot of damage," Gallo said.
According to Gallo, since the policy change, Coast Mountain Bus Company employees have reported fewer incidents.
Jill Drews, a spokesperson for TransLink, says the mental health of employees is taken very seriously.
"When you do call and a customer is transferred to an agent, we've updated that message that goes to them that they'll hear over the phone to include the phrase, we value our customers and our employees and we expect everyone to be respectful of each other."