The Canada Industrial Relations Board could force striking Ottawa transit employees back to work depending on what it hears this week from people claiming their health and safety have been jeopardized by the four-week strike.

The board is receiving public letters, faxes and emails until 5 p.m. on Friday as part of an order from Labour Minister Rona Ambrose to look at agreements between the City of Ottawa and the union regarding essential services.

The board has the power to make orders, and confirm or change existing essential-services agreements to "prevent immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public" under Sec. 87.4 of the Canada Labour Code.

About 2,300 transit drivers, dispatchers and maintenance staff have been on strike since Dec. 10. Ambrose has ordered them to vote this Thursday on the city's latest contract offer.

However, the board could order them back to work even if they vote against the offer.

Pamela Chapman, a labour law professor at the University of Ottawa, said the board could also order workers to do something more than they're doing now to safeguard public health and safety without necessarily requiring them to return to work.

Woman can't afford cabs to see doctor

Suzanne Labelle, 56, is at least one Ottawa resident who wants to make a submission to the industrial relations board.

Labelle, who lives on a $765-a-month disability cheque, makes regular trips to the doctor for treatment of health problems that include heart disease, blood clots in her feet and asthma.

Since the start of the transit strike, she has been taking taxis.

"So far I've spent well over $200 and we're not done yet," she said.

In December, she missed an appointment with her surgeon because it would have cost her $50 to get there and back.

"I just couldn't afford it," she said.

Deal allows new school bus routes

The strike has also affected students trying to get to classes.

Fortunately for some middle school and high school students, extra yellow school bus routes will be added starting Wednesday.

The agreement between the striking transit union, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board calls for the boards to add extra yellow school bus routes to serve some of the 14,000 students who normally take OC Transpo buses to and from classes.

Local 279 of the Amalgamated Transit Union has promised not to put up picket lines to interfere with the service provided the school boards use their existing buses on the new routes and don't hire any new buses.

That means the buses must complete their regular routes each day before starting on the new routes.

Lynn Scott, chair of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, said the temporary service is targeted at as many students as possible who normally rely on OC Transpo's 600-series runs, but admitted the service is a limited one.

"And it's not necessarily going to get all of them to school exactly on time," she said.

The students using the new routes will also leave school an hour or two after classes end for the day.

Mike Carson, superintendent of facilities for the Ottawa-Carleton board, said it has been in touch with principals to make sure they are aware students using the new routes will be arriving late.

"And they're looking at plans as to how to accommodate them," he said.