Waterloo Regional council to ratify new contract with Grand River Transit bus drivers on Thursday

Waterloo Regional Council will hold a special meeting on Thursday to ratify the new contract for Grand River Transit bus drivers and support staff.

Drivers were back on the job on Thursday after UNIFOR Local 4304 had reached an agreement with the region on Monday.

On Tuesday, union members voted to ratify the deal, which the region says will provide an overall increase of 9.88 per cent in wages and benefits over three years.

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“We appreciate that residents throughout the community rely on transit on a daily basis and we recognize the disruption the strike has caused,” a statement from the region read.

Beginning Thursday and running through May 22, the region is offering customers free use of public transit services including ION trains.

It has also said that those who purchased a monthly pass for May before May 8 will receive a monthly pass before June.

Grand River Transit employees initially walked off the job on May 1.