Transit workers strike Oct. 29 looming
Peterborough Transit drivers and garage staff will be in a legal strike position on Oct. 29 after talks between the city and the Amalgamated Transit Union have so far failed to reach a new contract.
The negotiations have been ongoing since the spring, according to a release from the city.
In August, 107 transit workers represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1320 voted 93 per cent in favour of taking strike action to back up their demands.
Further talks are planned, according to the city.
“Please be advised that Peterborough Transit operations may be impacted as of (Oct. 29),” the city’s release states.
Tyler Burns, a bus driver and president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1320, wrote in an email to The Examiner on Friday that the union wants competitive wages for workers – but there’s more to it than that.
“We are fighting for guarantees of work conditions, and better measures to ensure driver safety,” he wrote.
For example, Burns wrote that during the recent renovations of the downtown transit station, there was an instance of raw sewage backing up into the drivers’ lunch room.
“Management refused to relocate us, refused to provide clean bathrooms and wouldn’t even provide us with bottled water,” Burns wrote.
“Months after the renovations, we would still come to work and have brown water coming from the taps.”
Burns also described a recent incident where a passenger got on the bus with an imitation gun – but it wasn’t clear, at first, whether or not the gun was real.
“It was three to five minutes before the police were called, because an operations supervisor wanted to investigate it himself,” Burns wrote.
“City Hall does not seem to take these issues seriously, and in some cases aren’t aware of them .... If they aren’t willing to implement systems and compensation to defend my members in these issues, then they will have to compensate us with a wage package so we can take care of it ourselves.”
Kevin Jones, the city’s transportation manager, didn’t want to discuss any of the details related to the union’s demands in an interview on Friday. He simply said the negotiations are over working conditions and salaries.
“We have further talks scheduled for next week,” he said. “Let’s hope to reach an agreement.”
Meanwhile, new travel arrangements are already being considered for local high school students who use city transit to get to school.
Student Transportation Services of Central Ontario is making plans for alternative busing for students at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School and Holy Cross Secondary School who qualify to use Peterborough Transit buses on monthly passes to get to school.
STSCO, which co-ordinates busing for the local public and Catholic school boards, would provide yellow school buses before and after school with stops at designated elementary schools and other central locations.
“The routes will be express routes which will service a limited number of stops in order to accommodate the needs of all students who would normally ride transit buses to school,” Joel Sloggett, CAO of STSCO, stated in a letter to parents.
The city also has contracts with Trent University and Fleming College that provide express service for their students. It’s unclear what alternatives would be provided for them in an event of a strike.