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Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2019
Quebec school
bus strike set
for April 24
MAGOG, Que. — Barring
significant progress at the
bargaining table, school bus
drivers at Autobus DL will walk
off the job on April 24, according
to Teamsters.
Between 3,000 and 3,500
students at the Eastern Town-
ships School Board and the
Commission scolaire du Val-
des-Cerfs may find themselves
without school bus service, said
Teamsters.
Wages are the main sticking
point, according to the union.
"The pay increases manage-
ment is proposing will not allow
our members to keep up with the
cost of living. School drivers are
already the lowest-paid profes-
sional drivers in Quebec, earn-
ing on average $20,000 a year,"
said Jean Chartrand, Teamsters,
Local Union 106 president.
On April 10, it was announced
that members had voted by a
margin of 91 per cent to walk off
the job at a moment deemed ap-
propriate by the union. But the
latest talks with the company
indicate that there is no way for-
ward, said the union.
The collective agreement ex-
pired in summer 2018.
The union remains open to
continue negotiating, but man-
agement is not ready to make
any new offers and no new
meetings between parties have
been scheduled at this time, said
Teamsters.
"Out of solidarity with par-
ents, the union had committed
to providing advance notice of
any work stoppage. We sincere-
ly hope this 12-day notice will
give them enough time to find
other options for taking their
kids to school," said Chartrand.
"Meanwhile, we will continue
doing everything possible to
avoid a strike and reach a fair
and equitable agreement for our
members."
On top of low wages, school
bus drivers have to deal with
split shifts, bad weather, poor
roads, students' behaviour and
impatient or aggressive motor-
ists, said the union.
A strike at Autobus DL would
mainly affect the cities of Cow-
ansville, Bromont, Adamsville,
Waterloo, Knowlton and Farn-
ham.
CUPE fi les
to represent
WestJet fl ight
attendants
CALGARY — The Canadian
Union of Public Employees
(CUPE) filed an application at
the Canada Industrial Relations
Board on April 12 to represent
flight attendants at WestJet En-
core.
A majority of WestJet Encore
flight attendants have signed
cards supporting unionization
with CUPE, after citing the need
for better schedules and bet-
ter opportunities for career ad-
vancement among their reasons
for seeking to unionize, said the
union.
UNBC
teaching
assistants
unionize
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. —
Teaching assistants (TAs) at the
University of Northern British
Columbia (UNBC) in Prince
George, B.C., voted to join the
Canadian Union of Public Em-
ployees (CUPE) 2278 in a labour
board vote held on April 3.
The 76 TAs will now be mem-
bers of the union local repre-
senting teaching assistants and
English-language instructors,
according to CUPE.
The local will be negotiating a
first collective agreement on be-
half of their newest members at
UNBC, said the union.
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Supporters gather to show their solidarity with a nationwide teachers' strike in Warsaw, on April 12.
