Toronto school bus drivers reach tentative deal, averting strike
Posted April 30, 2013 11:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – Stock Transportation and the union representing some 600 school bus drivers reached a tentative agreement Tuesday night, averting a strike.
An agreement was reached shortly before 11 p.m. ahead of the midnight deadline, which would have meant the drivers were in a legal strike position.
“We’re really glad that we’ve been able to avert this, even though it’s late in the day,”
Canadian Auto Workers’ Local 4268 president Debbie Montgomery said, thanking parents for their patience.
A strike would have left nearly 4,200 students — most with special needs — without transportation to school Wednesday.
School bus service will operate normally at Toronto’s public and Catholic schools.
Details of the agreement are not being released until union members review and vote. There is no date yet for the vote.
School bus driver wages were the main issue in the dispute, the union said Saturday.
CAW Local 4268 represents drivers of school buses to schools in the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
Recently, the drivers voted 93 per cent in favour of strike action if necessary.
Negotiations have been ongoing since March.
