Canadian Labour Reporter

Toronto, York school bus contract ratifi ed TORONTO — School bus driv- ers in Toronto and York Region, members of Unifor Local 4268, ratified a collective agreement that could alleviate driver short- ages if adopted, said the union. "This contract lays the ground- work for helping attract drivers to the industry, and to avoid future shortages by helping to retain drivers," said Debbie Montgom- ery, Local 4268 president. More than 2,600 students across the public and Catholic school boards in Toronto were left stranded due to a shortage of drivers. Unifor Local 4268 represents 320 drivers with First Student bus company, which serves about 8,500 students in Toronto and York Region. The contract was reached after a bargaining session that went past a possible strike or lockout deadline. The contract, ratified by a vote of 75 per cent, includes higher wages for drivers, and bus driv- ers getting paid for all the hours they are on duty, according to the union. Non-driving route tasks, pre- viously paid a minimum wage of $11.42 per hour, will increase to $13.40 over the life of the agree- ment. All rates in the agreement increase by between six and 17 per cent, said the union. Food Basics employees ratify contract TORONTO — Unifor members of Local 414 at 20 Food Basics stores in communities across Ontario ratified a new four-year collective agreement by 79 per cent, according to the union. "Grocery store workers are of- ten forced to cope with low wag- es and erratic schedules," said Keith Osborne, Unifor director of retail. The new contract includes an- nual wage increases for full- and part-time employees in each year of the contract, a revised part-time wage grid, benefit boosts and improved schedul- ing among other gains, said the union. Full- and part-time members will receive a $1-per-hour pay increase over the term of the contract along with a new mini- mum wage-plus provision for part-time clerks, according to the union. This collective agreement, which expires Oct. 31, 2020, cov- ers Food Basics store workers in Brampton, Brockville, Chatham, Cornwall, Kingston, Milton, Mississauga, Ottawa, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, St. Catha- rines, Thornhill and Toronto. Keystone workers ratify fi rst contract OWEN SOUND, Ont. — About 80 workers at Keystone Child, Youth and Family Servic- es (members of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OP- SEU) Local 295) have ratified a first collective agreement. The three-year contract in- cludes wage increases, benefit gains, improved layoff language and mileage increases, accord- ing to the union. "Our membership had voted to have a voice in the workplace, and by seeing it through, we ended up with substantial gains," said Diane Liska, OPSEU local president. LABOUR BRIEFS 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2016 FORMERLY CLV REPORTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by omson Reuters Canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $595 per year Customer Service Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5106 Email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Website: www.carswell.com Director, Carswell Media Karen Lorimer Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Todd Humber Editor/Supervisor Sarah Dobson | (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com News Editor John Dujay | (416) 298-5129 john.dujay@thomsonreuters.com Contributing Editor Jeff rey R. Smith Marketing Co-ordinator Keith Fulford | (416) 649-9585 keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com © 2016 Carswell, a division of omson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. e publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. e analysis contained herein represents the opinion of the authors and should in no way be construed as being either offi cial or unoffi cial policy of any governmental body. ISSN 0045-5113 Publications Registration 2089 Canadian Labour Reporter is part of the Canadian HR Reporter group of publications. Visit www.hrreporter.com for more information. Labour Reporter Canadian www.labour-reporter.com Photo: Clodagh Kilcoyne (Reuters) LABOUR LENS Members of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland take part in a strike at Beneavin De La Salle College over a pay dispute in Dublin, Ireland, on Nov. 8.

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