Friday, December 7, 2007

Bus strike settlement

It appears the strike involving Ontario Northland highway coach drivers could be over soon.
Ontario Northland and the Teamsters Canada Rail union have announced a tentative settlement of their dispute.
The drivers went on strike on September 29, effectively shutting down all highway bus service in Northeastern Ontario.
The new deal could be considered welcome news by students and hundreds of others who rely on highway buses as their main means of transportation, especially with the Christmas holiday approaching.
"We are very pleased to have reached a tentative settlement with Teamsters," said Beverly Martin, Chief Communications Officer with Ontario Northland. "We are anxious to resume full motor coach operations as soon as possible and apologize once again to all of our customers, who have been inconvenienced by this recent labour disruption."
"The motor coach operators are dedicated professionals who came to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference to provide the representation necessary to make a variety of improvements within their collective agreement. While this strike has been difficult for the people of this region, we believe this settlement is fair to the union members and we are proud to represent such professionals in the transportation industry," said Douglas Finnson, Vice President, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
If the new deal is accepted by the drivers, Martin says she expects bus service will resume early next week.

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