TORONTO — A school bus strike that could have impacted about 10,000 students at 103 schools in parts of Durham Region and east-end Toronto was averted late Wednesday night. Unifor and First Student Canada signed a tentative agreement for 260 drivers just ahead of strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Naureen Rizvi, Unifor’s Ontario regional director, said unpaid hours and low wages were keys issues at the bargaining table. “It’s a full time commitment for part time pay.”Unifor Local 4268 president Debbie Montgomery said the unpaid hours makes it difficult for bus companies to recruit new drivers, which leads to shortages like one that affected Toronto school boards last year. That’s only fair.”A walkout would have impacted students within the Durham Public District School Board and at the Durham Catholic School Board in Ajax, Brock, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby plus a number of students in east-end Toronto.

Source: National Post November 30, 2017 06:06 UTC