GO Transit workers reach tentative deal with Metrolinx

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587 said in a release that their members will be back on the job Saturday.

Thestar.com
Nov. 11, 2022
Lex Harvey

GO buses will be back on the roads Saturday after Metrolinx reached a tentative deal with the union representing the transit workers who have been off the job for four days.

“Metrolinx is pleased to advise that we have reached a tentative three-year agreement with ATU Local 1587,” Metrolinx chief spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said Thursday.

“This is good news for our ATU employees and our customers.”

Bus service will return on Saturday, Aikins said.

Roughly 2,200 GO Transit bus operators, station attendants, transit safety officers, fare inspectors and other workers walked off the job Monday after negotiations broke down with Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency that oversees GO Transit and the Union Pearson Express.

The GO Transit workers have been without a contract since June and were in a legal strike position as of Oct. 1.

In a statement, ATU Local 1587 said it “reached a strong tentative contract agreement with Metrolinx that addresses the Union’s safety concerns and contracting out issues.”

At the centre of the dispute were three demands from the union: that Metrolinx hires more full-time employees, that it eliminates “unnecessary spread times,” where workers must wait in their buses mid-shift and that it strengthens language that prevents the company from contracting out jobs.

“Our members stood strong and united throughout this process. Metrolinx tried to divide us,” said Local 1587 President Rob Cormier. “This strike shows that our members are willing to lay it all on the line for justice.”

The strike left roughly 15,000 GO bus riders scrambling for travel alternatives. Some students and workers were forced to stay home.

While GO train service continued throughout the strike, fare inspectors, station attendants and transit safety officers were also off the job.