Talks are off. Stating that the city “failed to significantly alter its position,” the union representing 2,300 striking OC Transpo employees said negotiations have broken off.
“The city failed to change its key offers,” said Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 president Andre Cornellier. “There is no evidence that the city’s bargaining committee really has a ‘new’ mandate. The city must stop stalling, get serious and get rolling.”
After an emergency meeting last Saturday, city council voted a new mandate for the negotiating team.
In an effort to arrive at a solution, the city offered to remove the $2,500 productivity bonus in return for two per cent more over the remaining two years. The city also offered to set up a temporary joint management/union committee to devise a scheduling system.
