The union head for GO bus drivers and support workers says his optimism on getting a quick deal done “went down a few notches” after weekend meetings with Metrolinx failed to end a dispute over job security.
For the second day, GO Transit bus service was suspended as striking drivers returned to picket lines over bargaining concerns that include a commitment to hire more full-time workers and protections against contracting work to outside companies.
“We thought this was a completely avoidable,” ATU Local 1587 president Rob Cormier told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton.
“To inconvenience our passengers, that’s the last thing we wanted to do.”
Cormier says Metrolinx didn’t put forward a proposal Sunday which led to the drivers withdrawal Monday morning.
The province’s transit operator says issues tabled by the union in weekend negotiations couldn’t be addressed before Monday’s deadline.
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The union has been at the table with Metrolinx for seven months, according to Cormier, who says their “big ticket” item lies with maintaining hours for close to 2,200 workers who have experienced work being handed off to contractors.
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“It’s not just bus operators … we have office workers … plant maintenance people … fleet maintenance people … we see a lot of the jobs that our people normally do being done by contractors,” Cormier explained.
“So if one of our people leaves through retirement or … they decide to leave the company, we just want to make sure that job got posted and our people had the opportunity to do it.”
On Monday, Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins said the agency acknowledges the union’s concerns about contracting outside workers, but maintained the company has measures in place to ensure safety for all.
The union has been working without a contract since June and said it was planning to file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour accusing Metrolinx of bad-faith bargaining.
Aikens said Metrolinx had “always bargained in good faith” and remains willing to “get back to the table and to reach an agreement.”
The union says they reached out to the mediator on Monday and explained they were ready to go back to the table.
The next round of negotiations between Metrolinx and the unionized workers has been scheduled for Thursday.
Commuters are expetced to face continued disruption to bus services as the strike action drags on.
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