School transportation strike in Montreal: as the conciliator paused the negotiations, let's put the adjudicator in charge

MONTREAL, Feb. 29, 2024 /CNW/ - More than 15,000 Montreal students are deprived of school transportation in Montreal due to the strike that has affected our company, Autobus Transco, since October 31, 2023, or more than four months. Two conciliators tried to forge a consensus at the negotiating table, without success, and as the second conciliator just decided to take a pause, we think more than ever that the most simple and effective way to ensure the immediate resumption of service to students is to move to arbitration. But first, let's see the context.

For many months, Transco has been trying to find common ground to renew the collective agreement of its approximately 350 bus drivers, who are members of the Transco-CSN Workers' Union. The sticking point in the negotiations mainly concerns salaries.

Transco offered drivers salary increases of 33% over 6 years, which includes a significant 20% increase in just the first year alone. This was communicated to the union and was done not only in response to the union demands but more importantly, in recognition of the work and efforts of the Drivers, taking into account the increase in cost of living. These increases would ensure that our drivers still get the best pay in school transportation in Montreal and their fair share of revenues collected by Transco from school boards. Transco has also been willing to continue the negotiations with the Union.

Nothing reasonable seems to help. Week after week, the CSN states that Transco's offer is not enough. To which we inevitably respond that the CSN's demands would not be viable for any school carrier and would compromise the school transportation system in Montreal.

Money does not grow on trees, neither for the drivers, nor for the union, nor for Transco. We must therefore, together, find the balance between reasonable expectations. All our competitors in Montreal get the same revenues from the school boards. How can Transco be forced to pay more when it already pays more than the competitors to drivers?

In the meantime, families deprived of services are going through very difficult times: parents are losing their jobs, unable to provide both transportation and adequate attendance at work. Children are sometimes absent from classes. For the good of all, we absolutely must find a solution… quickly!

The CSN knows this solution, and it is arbitration. CSN rejected it as they know too well its off-the-charts demands in Montreal won't stand arbitration.

The process is simple: if the parties agree to it, an arbitrator is appointed and takes control of the negotiation process. The arbitrator, who is an independent third party, analyzes the facts, hears the union and the employer, and reasonably and fairly decides the issues in dispute with the objective of achieving a balance for all.

Once the arbitration process is launched, school transportation service would resume. Drivers would receive a paycheck, which surely will be welcome with their own families. This would also allow Transco to once again collect revenues, which have been close to non-existent since the start of the strike movement.

Transco has been proposing to resort to arbitration for months. For what? Because we do not fear the decision of an adjudicator. On the contrary, we are looking for it. We are confident that the offer we have made is more than adequate, that it is reasonable for all parties, and that it ensures the viability of school transportation in Montreal.

For its part, the CSN refuses the appointment of an arbitrator, since it believes that its pressure tactics will allow it to obtain more. We strongly doubt it: for the good of families, drivers and for our own good, we will not agree to compromise the viability of our operations. The CSN's communication approach is to distort the facts by misleading with emotional unfounded public statements, avoiding the accountability that brings a knowledgeable and trained professional arbitrator.

The arbitrator would not be a negotiating "player" as the union is pretending, trying to diminish the arbitrator's role and significance. Rather, the arbitrator is fully empowered as the ultimate decision-maker to impose and force a binding decision and resolution, ending this strike. The union unwillingness to voluntarily join the company in authorizing an arbitrator to determine and impose a final and permanent resolution, demonstrates the union continued obstructive behavior and approach to settling this matter.

This attitude of the CSN is very bad news for parents, who must now contemplate the possibility that no school transportation service will be available by the end of the school year. We therefore once again invite the CSN to trust the arbitration system and to give this essential service back to families. Let's put the adjudicator behind the wheel right now, so we can put our buses back on the road, for the sake of all.

About Autobus Transco/First Student, Inc.

As a leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, Autobus Transco/First Student strives to provide the best start and finish to every school day. With a team of highly trained drivers and the industry's strongest safety record, Autobus Transco/First Student delivers reliable, quality services, including full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, fleet electrification, route optimization, and scheduling, maintenance, and charter services with a fleet of about 46,600 buses. For more information, visit autobustransco.ca.

SOURCE Autobus Transco/First Student, Inc.

Claude Breton, [email protected]