School bus drivers' strike ends at Transco, easing parents' carpool headaches
Transco school buses in Montreal are expected to be back on the road by Monday.
Union workers with Transco school bus company have accepted a negotiation proposal submitted by a conciliator, voting 69.4 per cent in favour of the settlement, which was submitted Wednesday.
The terms of the proposal include a 43 per cent pay increase over the six-year term of the new collective agreement, retroactive to July 1, 2022.
"During this period, our current weekly salary of $634 will rise to $907 on July 1, 2027. We also won an increase in our vacation scale to 10 per cent after the 15th year of service, as well as a 6th day of sick leave in 2025," said Carole Laplante, president of STTT-CSN, in a news release.
The union, which represents 350 school bus drivers, has been on strike since Oct. 31, 2023.
Transportation headaches
Some 15,000 students in Montreal's school service centres and school boards have not had school transportation since then. The strike affected kids at the English Montreal and Lester B. Pearson school boards, the Montreal and Marguerite-Bourgeoys service centres, as well as Collège Sainte-Anne.
Some parents have been organizing carpooling to share transportation duties, but it’s not been easy to make do, said parent Helen Sanders.
“All the parents who were at our bus stop all got together and started organizing who could pick up in the mornings, who could pick up in the afternoons,” said parent Helen Sanders. “But it’s really complicated because kids have different schedules, some of them are in shared custody, some of them aren’t coming home, some are sick. For people who work, it’s been incredibly burdensome.”
The union said it expects service to return for those students on Monday after March break.
Susan Knox, who has been driving for Transco about a dozen years, she says they went into this strike wanting not only a wage increase but also insurance benefits.
They did receive the increase, but no insurance benefits.
Knox said she’s happy to get back to work, but says it's a job that is still not fairly appreciated.
"So for us, to work for $634 a week, it’s not [feasible]. You need your first aid, you need your métier unique in Quebec. You’ve got to do your road test every year. You have upgrading every year. You have to go in and watch there safety videos. You have to do all this stuff. For me, it’s not a very well-paying job considering the responsibility that goes along with it," she said.
A union representative said there are still chronic shortages of bus drivers.
- With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservatives call on Elon Musk to step in after Liberals provide loan to Ottawa-based satellite operator
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year CTV News reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
B.C. election campaign officially underway
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
Northern Ont. man fined for hunting bull moose without a licence after trying to cover it up
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Heavy metal exposure could increase cardiovascular disease risk, study finds
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
Operation to remove Nearly 1,000 tires from the Saint Lawrence River
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
Hezbollah targets base near Haifa after Israeli strike in Beirut killed 37, including top commander
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.
Rescuers free entangled sea lion off Vancouver Island
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.