School bus drivers ratify new contract to avoid service disruptions

Windsor-Essex bus drivers have ratified a new contract, preventing a strike.

Bus drivers responsible for transporting about 7,000 students to schools in parts of Windsor-Essex will not take the picket line after ratifying a new contract.

At a meeting held on Saturday morning, drivers for First Student, represented by Unifor Local 195, voted 62 per cent in favour of ratifying the collective agreement.

Consisting of about 120 members, Emile Nabbout, the union president, said lengthy talks boiled down to differences in wages.

“We believe our drivers always [are] underpaid, underappreciated. We’re trying to get them the best dollar we can. This is the biggest challenge, the wages and the working conditions,” Nabbout told CTV News.

Stalled talks left bus drivers in a legal strike position as of Friday, and the company threatening to lock out workers.

At the end of the day, Nabbout said they wanted to avoid any potential impact on student lives.

“Disruption to the student, to the family can be overwhelming to many people in the community,” Nabbout said.

In a post to its website, Windsor Essex Student Transportation Services (WESTS), a consortium formed to manage student transportation, shared the news.

“We are pleased to inform you that the members of Unifor Local 195 have voted in favour of and ratified the offer from First Student Canada,” a post read.

“All First Student school bus routes will operate as usual on Monday, Sept. 15.”

The vote results signalled support was far from unanimous as workers hoped for a higher wage package. However, Flavio Marcon, a bus driver and union chairperson, said many workers are happy to avoid being out on strike.

“The morale of the workers is higher because it’s been ratified, so it eases the pressure on a lot of the workers because a lot of them do not want a walkout or a strike,” Marcon said.