Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Outsourcing an issue between city, union

One issue that didn't get as much coverage in the winter transit strike of 2008-09 but remains a significant one is the outsourcing of labour at OC Transpo. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) local 279, representing operators, obviously doesn't like the idea, but the city maintained that it was something they could use to keep operating costs lower. It's become an issue once again, according to 580 CFRA:

The vice president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Mike Aldrich says safety inspections for busses are being delayed because OC Transpo management didn't submit the required paperwork in time.

Mike Aldrich says it means the work - normally done by union members - is being outsourced to commercial garages in the city.

"It's just another way of somebody dropping the ball in management," says Aldrich. "Someone has got to be accountable for this."
Relations between the two sides seem to be improving, but this is one issue which will certainly continue to come up in the ongoing negotiations between the two sides.

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