The parents of thousands of students in the Quebec region are not at the end of their sentence. After a week of walkouts, the school bus drivers of two Quebec carriers voted on Friday for an unlimited general strike mandate.
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The 85 drivers will still be back behind the wheel on Monday morning, after having initiated a first seven-day walkout. The indefinite general strike could be called later, “when deemed appropriate”.
A meeting with the employer, in the presence of a conciliator, is still scheduled for Saturday. “We have requests that are legitimate and our members have told us today that they are keen on them,” said Hélène Thibault, president of the Syndicate of Tremblay and Paradis-CSN school transport employees, in a press release.
The drivers are demanding wage increases, a guaranteed minimum of 25 hours of work per week and compensation for all hours worked, including waiting time, traffic problems and refilling fuel tanks, the union said.
“In the current context of labor scarcity, problems of attraction, retention and inflation, the wages currently offered by the employer are clearly insufficient,” added Barbara Poirier, President of the Central Council of Quebec–Chaudière-Appalaches–CSN.
The drivers of Autobus Tremblay & Paradis and its subsidiary, Autobus BR, transport more than 6,000 students every day, according to their employer. Their employment contract expired on June 30.
It has not been possible to reach a representative of the employer at the time of this writing.
More details to come…