TTC launches employee whistleblower line

The TTC hopes to curb employee fraud and theft with a new whistleblower program that allows its employees to anonymously report unethical or illegal behaviour.

As part of the "Integrity," program the TTC has hired a third party company to receive anonymous reports of employee fraud and pass them on to management.

"It allows us to root out the bad apples that exist in any large organization the size of the TTC," spokesman Brad Ross told CBC News. "It's important for us to ensure the money we are charged with spending is protected."

'It allows us to root out the bad apples that exist in any large organization the size of the TTC' —Spokesman Brad Ross

Ross said employees have always been encouraged to report such behaviour to their managers, but the new system will allow the reports to be collected anonymously. Workers can flag bad behaviour online or through a 1-800 number.

An important upgrade over more traditional "snitch lines" is that online reports allow managers to request more information about the complaints while the whistleblower remains anonymous, Ross said.

Bob Kinnear, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union local 115, said he's disappointed the TTC chose to implement the program, which he said won't improve the relationship between front-line workers and management.

"It creates the perception that there's a systemic theft problem .... most of the theft problems have involved contractors," said Kinnear.

Ross, however, said he's hopeful the program will become an important "investigative tool" to help the TTC  prevent the kind of fraud that led to charges against a TTC worker and members of his family who were convicted in 2011 of overcharging a paving contractor and receiving kickbacks in return.    

Each of the TTC’s 13,000 employees will receive a notice explaining how the program works.

"We will be able to get to those instances more quickly," said Ross. "It shows we are serious about unethical behaviour within the organization."