GO Transit workers set to go on strike Monday after rejecting latest Metrolinx offer
Posted November 4, 2022 4:38 pm.
Last Updated November 4, 2022 7:31 pm.
If GO Transit bus service is part of your daily commute, you may have to find alternate means of transportation starting next week.
GO Transit workers have rejected the latest contract offer from Metrolinx, meaning 2,200 station attendants, bus drivers, maintenance workers, safety officers and office professionals will be on strike as of 12:01 Monday morning.
The workers, who are members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1587, voted by 81 per cent against the offer and in favour of strike action, according to a statement released by union officials Friday afternoon.
Metrolinx spokesperson, Anne Marie Aikins, confirmed that if the strikes proceeds, there will be no bus service starting Monday. Trains will continue to operate as scheduled.
Workers had initially planned to walk off the job on Halloween but pushed back that deadline in order to vote on the most recent offer.
“Our members have made it utterly clear. We will not accept a deal unless it addresses our primary concern, which is contracting out,” said Local President Rob Cormier. “We have had enough – starting Monday, we will walk the picket lines until we reach an agreement that protects job security for our current and future members.”
The union says the contracting out provisions are standard in other transit agencies in Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa, where their collective agreements either restrict it altogether or limit it to certain scenarios.
“Without these protections, Metrolinx can contract to outside companies unfamiliar with the fleet which will hire inexperienced workers at the lowest of wages,” said Cormier.
Cormier added that the union is available to meet with Metrolinx over the weekend to try and reach a deal.
A potential strike could also affect TTC and transit in Mississauga and Hamilton since other ATU members will not cross picket lines.
The strike would come three days after Ontario education workers walked off the job in their stalled contract talks with the provincial government.
