First Student school bus drivers back strike mandate
Posted March 7, 2012 11:18 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
School bus drivers who work for First Student Canada in Thornhill, Mississauga and other parts of southern Ontario have given their union a strike mandate after more than six months of “fruitless negotiations.”
CAW Local 4268, which represents 750 school bus drivers who drive for various schools boards and other clients, said some or all customers could see service interruptions if both parties can’t reach later this month.
No strike date has been announced, but the mandate expires March 30, and notice could be given at any time, the union said in a release.
Talks have been underway since October 2011 but negotiators have made little headway.
One sticking point is that drivers are being asked to perform extra tasks for which they are not being paid, the union said.
“The employer, school boards and other customers constantly come up with new procedures, policies and job requirements that add even greater time and responsibilities beyond the route times for drivers,” union president Debbie Montgomery said in the release. “The issue is not with the new procedures or regulations, but the fact that the time they require is often not compensated.”
The following service would be affected in the event of a strike:
Bowmanville: Durham Catholic, Durham Public, STSCO (Kawartha Pineridge (KPR) and Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland County (PVNC)) and the French Catholic Board.
Thornhill: Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the French Board and 1 Private School (Island).
Owen Sound: Three boards through one transportation consortium: Bluewater District School Board, Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board, Conseil Scolaire de District des Ecoles Catholiques du Sud Ouest
Hawkestone (Mississauga): Peel District School Board (English Public), Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (English Catholic), Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest (French Public), Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud (French Catholic)
Lindsay: Trillium Lakeland District School Board, Durham Catholic School Board, Transit run for the City of Kawartha Lakes.
Port Elgin and Kincardine: Contract services to the Bruce Power Nuclear Plant, Bluewater District SB and Bruce-Grey Catholic District SB
