GO service impacted for 3rd day by strike

Metrolinx says GO buses are being diverted from Toronto’s Union Station to alternative transit hubs until further notice due to ongoing strike action.

Ninety-five workers with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday after the union and Toronto Terminals Railway failed to reach an agreement.

The employees, who are signals and communication workers as well as train movement directors at Canada’s busiest transit hub, were blocking GO buses from entering and exiting the Union Station Bus Terminal Monday, but all seven GO train lines remain fully operational, according to Metrolinx.

Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins says a “contingency plan” has been put in place to reroute numerous GO bus routes to other transit stations.

Union members have been demonstrating in front of the bus terminal on and off since Saturday.

Aikins says the workers started protesting Saturday afternoon before leaving a short while later, but they returned in the evening when people were heading home from the Toronto Raptors game.

On Sunday, the protest started at 11 a.m. and disrupted bus service until 11:30 p.m., according to Metrolinx. The terminal was forced to shut down for most of the day. The company says the weekend disruption impacted thousands of transit riders and hundreds of buses.

In a tweet, the local branch of the IBEW said the union would “love to be back at the bargaining table” and accused Metrolinx of supporting TTR with workers who crossed the picket line.

The union has said its Union Station employees “eagerly await a worthwhile negotiated settlement” so they can return to their positions.