Unifor warns First Student Bus Company drivers serving the Bluewater District School Board and the Bruce Power Plant will go on strike next Thursday if they don't reach a contract agreement by then.
Unifor Local 4268 represents 65 school bus drivers serving schools in Port Elgin, Kincardine, and along the lake shore area. The drivers also shuttle workers from Port Elgin and Kincardine, to the Bruce Nuclear Power plant.
The main issues are scheduling and money. The last collective agreements expired last August, and months of negotiations have failed to produce a deal.
Unifor says provincial policy is making bargaining more difficult due to added pressure to keep compensation low to gain new routes.
Unifor wants Ontario to reform the request for proposal process for handing out school bus contracts, calling the process a race to the bottom on compensation and abandoned bus routes.
Talks continue for school bus drivers in the Owen Sound Wiarton area, and for Owen Sound city transit drivers.
To see Unifor's complete report, Steering Clear, and recommendations, as well as Unifor's deputations to a provincial panel examining the RFP process, go to Unifor.org/schoolbuscampaign.
"It is difficult to bargain in this sector, but we must ensure that this is more than a minimum wage job. Retention is already a huge problem in this industry," says Unifor Staff Representative Len Poirier.