Regional council set for closed-door transit talk
Posted Feb 21, 2012 05:14:56 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Regional councillors will hold another closed-door meeting today to discuss the ongoing transit strike.
Council voted to reject the Amalgamated Transit Union’s offer to take the labour dispute to binding arbitration after a four-hour long private meeting last Tuesday, and a week later, council members are still defending the decision.
“It may not end the strike, at least satisfactory to both parties,” Coun. Debbie Hum (Rockingham-Wentworth) told the Rick Howe Show Monday.
The head of the ATU says members are willing to return to work while lawyers for the city and the union hash out a contract with an arbitrator.
The main point of contention remains the question of scheduling. The city wants to replace the current scheduling system with rostering, saying it will save millions of dollars in overtime every year.
However, the union says the ability for drivers to choose their own shifts is a quality of life issue.
“It’s not efficient,” said Hum. “It’s not an effective system and it’s not a sustainable system to continue with. It’s costing the municipality huge amounts of dollars, millions of dollars.”
Councillors maintain one of the reasons for rejecting binding arbitration is that they would risk losing rostering in the deal.
“It’s pretty well known that arbitrators aren’t generally that favourable to new positions or new ideas,” said Jackie Barkhouse (Woodside-Eastern Passage). “I think that would probably, possibly present some concern.”
The city wants to return to conciliated bargaining, with the help of the province’s lead conciliator.
However, union president Ken Wilson says he will not resume negotiations as long as rostering is on the table.
