Parents might have to start planning for an alternate way for 10,000 students in Durham Region to get to school late next week.
The union representing drivers for First Student Canada has served its employer with a strike notice, effective at 12:01 a.m., Nov. 30.
“We hope to reach a fair deal with First Student as we know the service our drivers provide is vital to students and their families,” said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Naureen Rizvi in a release Friday.
“However, it’s simply unfair to expect school bus drivers to continue to accept subpar wages and do unpaid work.”
The union represents drivers at First Student Ajax and First Student Brooklin, who service around 10,000 students in the Durham region, including the Durham District School Board, the Durham Catholic District School Board and the Toronto District School Board in Ajax, Brock, Oshawa, Pickering, Scarborough, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby areas.
“Drivers assume responsibility for the safety of children while also navigating school buses through our communities, yet they remain at the bottom of the professional driver pay scale,” said Debbie Montgomery, president of Unifor Local 4268 in the same release. “School bus drivers deserve decent wages and working conditions and we’re not willing to settle for less from First Student.”
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The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) both issued letters to parents and guardians last week warning them of the possibility of a strike.
READ MORE: First Student Canada school bus drivers in Toronto in legal strike position
“In the event of a strike, there will be no school bus services on routes being serviced by this division, and this would mean that your child would be without school bus transportation service for the duration of the job action,” the board said.
The school boards have been told the school bus operator will not replace drivers, nor will the school board contact another bus company to service the routes.
Unifor said they will continue to negotiate with First Student until the strike deadline Thursday, “with the goal of reaching a fair contract.”
Below is a list of schools that may be impacted by a possible strike:
Toronto District School Board
- Cedarbrook Jr PS
- Centennial Road Jr PS
- Cornell Jr PS
- Corvette Jr PS
- General Crerar PS
- George B Little Jr PS
- Poplar Road Jr PS
- West Hill CI
- William G Miller Jr PS
Toronto Catholic District School Board
- St Agatha Catholic School
- St Barbara Catholic School
- St Barnabas Catholic School
- St Bartholomew Catholic School
- St Boniface Catholic School
- St Brendan Catholic School
- St Bolumba Catholic School
- St Dominic savio Catholic School
- St Edmund campion Catholic School
- St ELizabeth seton Catholic School
- St Florence Catholic School
- St Lawrence Catholic School
- St Malachy Catholic School
- St Martin De Porres Catholic School
- St Nicholas Catholic School
- St Richard Catholic School
- St Rose of Lima Catholic School
- St Thomas More Catholic School
- St Trsula Catholic School
Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud
- École élémentaire catholique Saint-Michel
- École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-de-Lalande
- École secondaire catholique Père-Philippe Lamarche
—With files from David Shum
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