The union leader for GO bus drivers and support staff claims that after weekend talks with Metrolinx failed to resolve a dispute over job security, his optimism for reaching a quick agreement “went down a few notches.”
GO Transit bus service was suspended for a second day as striking drivers went back to their picket lines in protest of issues with bargaining, such as a promise to hire more full-time employees and safeguards against outsourcing work.
According to ATU Local 1587 president Rob Cormier, “We thought this was a completely avoidable situation.”
We didn’t want to inconvenience our passengers, that’s for sure.
According to Cormier, Metrolinx failed to submit a proposal on Sunday, which prompted the drivers’ withdrawal on Monday.
According to the province’s transit operator, issues brought up by the union during weekend negotiations couldn’t be resolved in time for the deadline on Monday.
According to Cormier, the union and Metrolinx have been negotiating for seven months. Their “big ticket” issue is keeping the hours of nearly 2,200 employees whose jobs have been transferred to contractors.
“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 employees retires or ultimately decides to leave the company, we just want to make sure that the job was posted and that our employees had the chance to apply.
Despite acknowledging the union’s concerns about hiring outside workers, Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins insisted the organisation has safeguards in place to ensure everyone’s safety on Monday.
Since June, the union has been operating without a contract, and it recently announced plans to lodge a complaint with the Ministry of Labour accusing Metrolinx of engaging in bad faith negotiations.
Metrolinx “always bargained in good faith,” according to Aikens, and it is still ready to “get back to the table and 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.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no further discussions were planned.
The ‘big ticket’ issue, according to the union for GO drivers, is maintaining hours for employees.
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