Durham Transit Strike Enters Third Week
Posted October 23, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Transit riders in Durham Region were frustrated after the first day of a strike that left them stranded.
That was nothing. It’s now been two full weeks without service in the area, and there are no new talks scheduled to get the service up and running again.
Three hundred bus drivers, mechanics and support workers are off the job in Oshawa, Pickering, Ajax and Clarington over issues relating to contract workers and cost-of-living allowance.
Represented by Canadian Auto Workers Union 222, workers also worry benefit packages are being taken away.
Transit management says it can’t afford the solution, contending it would cost already-burdened taxpayers $11 million.
It’s unclear when the two sides might get back to the table to resume discussions.
Only Whitby and Brooklin residents are unaffected by the walkout, as their service is contracted out. GO Transit is still running in the area, but picketers have targeted those stations in order to slow things down.
Approximately 30,000 riders rely on the service.
For more on both sides of the dispute call 1-866-247-0055, or check the following websites:
