GO Transit workers to strike after no deal reached with Metrolinx by deadline

Around 2,200 GO Transit workers will go on strike just after midnight on Monday, after a deal could not be reached between the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1587 and Metrolinx on Sunday.

As of 12:01 a.m. on Monday morning, there will be no GO bus service, though buses that began their trip before midnight will complete their routes. Trains and the Union Pearson Express will also continue to operate, and stations will remain open.

Local 1587 had previously said Saturday that “all bus operators, transit safety, station attendants and coach technicians will finish their full shift, so as not to leave our passengers stranded. All other positions will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m.”

Metrolinx has encouraged riders to plan ahead and give themselves extra time for their commute. GO Transit scheduling updates can be found on gotransit.com or on GO Transit’s social media pages.

“Negotiations have failed because Metrolinx failed to come to the table with a reasonable offer to address any of our key issues,” said Local 1587 President Rob Cormier in a news release.

“It just doesn’t seem like they want to deal with us,” Cormier told the Star over the phone, shortly before the union announced it would strike. “This is something we tried to avoid at all cost.”

In a statement, Metrolinx said ATU walked away from negotiations on Sunday and refused to continue tomorrow.

“We remain open to discussing ways forward with ATU at the bargaining table, so we can come to an agreement,” the statement read.

The Crown agency said it began this weekend’s discussions hopeful an agreement could be reached since it had previously proposed “over 67 enhancements to the collective agreement that would improve working conditions.”

A “frustrated” Cormier told the Star he had also been hopeful earlier in the weekend but that optimism waned as, he said, Metrolinx continued to stall.

“Right now, we’re too far apart,” he added.

The Go Transit system serves the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of southern Ontario, connecting Toronto with regional hubs like London, Hamilton and Peterborough. In 2021, its annual ridership was 13,579,400. Bus service accounted for a little more than a third of that.

The union represents GO Transit workers including station attendants, bus operators, maintenance workers, transit safety officers and office professionals.

ATU said it had been negotiating with Metrolinx since April, with safety and job security as its top priorities. Members have been working without a contract since June.

There had been plans for a strike to begin on Oct. 31, but it was called off to allow union members to vote on Metrolinx’s latest offer.

On Friday, ATU announced they would strike early Monday after 81 per cent of its membership rejected the proposal.

Cormier had said members have concerns about language regarding contracting out.

He said there are protections in the collective agreement that no one can be laid off due to contracting out, though it doesn’t ensure the job will remain unionized.

“These basic protections against contracting out are the norm at every other transit agency in our region to ensure that experienced workers are on the job to ensure the safety of the buses. Without these protections, Metrolinx can contract to outside companies unfamiliar with the fleet, which will hire inexperienced workers at the lowest of wages.”

Metrolinx pushed back against this concern in its statement.

“For 22 years, we have had language in the agreement that protects the employment security of our ATU employees,” it read. “This long-standing protection will continue to protect existing staff as well as new hires joining Metrolinx.”

This strike comes just three days after 55,000 school support workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), walked off the job after the Ontario government pushed through controversial legislation that imposed a contract on them and prohibited their right to strike.

“This union-busting Crown corporation has been given its privatization mandate by the same government that is revoking Charter Rights for CUPE workers,” said ATU International President John Costa.

“We will stand with our brothers and sisters on the picket lines until we win.”

The union will hold a press conference on the strike at Maple Leaf Square in Toronto at 9 a.m. Monday morning.

With files from Ben Mussett

SHARE:

Powered by WPeMatico