Toronto bus strike averted as drivers and First Student transportation firm reach a deal

The union representing school bus drivers has reached a three-year dealwith the transportation company that covers three Toronto school boards, which would see drivers earn a wage increase.

Buses wil continue to operate as normal until the contract gets ratified.

"We're pretty wiped out all of us right now, it's been a long hard bargaining,"Debbie Montgomery ofUniforLocal 4268 told reporters Thursday morning.

"Thisshould bring a lot of relief to the parents, the kids they've had a rough start to the year and we're really glad we've been able to avert the situation by obtaining a deal."

The union reached the tentative agreement with First Student bus company almost six hours after the strike deadline of Thursday at midnight.

Montgomery said a turning point in negotiations came about an hour before reaching a deal, when there wasa "little bit of movement on the wage issue."

Agreeing to higher wages was at the heart of the negotiations, Montgomery told Metro Morning. Earlier this fall, she said that First Student had trouble retaining bus drivers, noting they make an average of $65 per day.

The deal also includes bus drivers getting paid for all the hours they're on duty, not just time when children are on the bus.

While she called the deal "fair," Montgomery said the union did not get everything they asked for.

Details on the agreement will be released after it is ratified, which Unifor says will take placeover the next few days.

If there were a work stoppage, 8,500 students from theToronto District School Board, the York Region District School Board, and the Toronto Catholic District School Board would have beenaffected.

The roughly 325 drivers cover routes in York region andthe city of Toronto.

Bus driver shortage still problem

Ryan Bird, spokesman forthe Toronto District School Board, said he's happy to hear about the deal.

He told Metro Morning that about 225 students still don't have a regular bus driver because of bus driver shortage, and the TDSB is working on getting more drivers on the road.

Bird said this new deal may encourage more people to become bus drivers.

Montgomery said there's more work to be done in the future, and says she's hopeful the province will "step up to the plate." In a press release, Unifor said it still wants theOntario government to amend the way the province's Request for Proposals process that lead to handing out school bus contracts.

"The RFP is extremely harmful to school bus drivers," Montgomery told Metro Morning.