Unless wage increase is offered, strike ‘will most definitely happen’: union
Ontario GO Transit workers have given a strike deadline of Sept. 19, 2011 if an agreement can’t be reached by their union and management.
A strike "will most definitely happen if management clings to its position of no wage increase unless it is taken out of existing benefits costs," says Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1587 president Ray Doyle.
GO has offered a two-year wage freeze in a two-year agreement, according to Doyle.
The union has asked the Ontario Ministry of Labour for a “no-board” report, which starts the clock ticking towards a possible strike. If this happens, it will be the first strike involving GO Transit’s ATU employees.
"Our 95 per cent strike vote was unprecedented and shows how frustrated our members are,” says Doyle.
Should a strike occur, bus service would be completely disabled while train service would be negatively affected.
ATU Local 1587 represents 1,530 workers in total, including bus drivers, station attendants and office personnel. GO Transit provides commuter service in the Greater Toronto region.
