A transit strike on the Quebec side of the National Capital Region is very unlikely, even though the collective agreement for transit workers in the Outaouais expired on Dec. 31.

The Société de Transport de l'Outaouais (STO) and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 0591 have been bargaining for some time and hope to have an agreement this spring, both sides confirmed Monday.

Meanwhile, the STO's 600 transit employees in Gatineau, Chelsea and Cantley remain on the job.

The ATU is the same union that represents about 2,300 Ottawa transit workers who have been on strike since Dec. 10. Those drivers, dispatchers and maintenance staff are part of Local 279.

STO's independence key: mediator

Jean-François Tremblay, who has worked as a mediator between the STO and its drivers in the past, said there has never been a strike at the STO since the company was created in 1971 as the Commission de transport de la Communauté régionale de l'Outaouais (CTCRO).

He credited a major difference between the two companies — Ottawa's transit company, OC Transpo, is a city-run department, while the STO is an independent body.

Consequently, politicians stay away from the negotiations.

Meanwhile, Tremblay said, the OC Transpo conflict has become an arm-wrestling match between the mayor and union leaders. He added that he thinks Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien's involvement has hurt negotiations.

The union in Ottawa also has a history of being more aggressive than the one in Gatineau, Tremblay said.

City of Ottawa 'aggressive': union

But Randy Graham, international vice-president for the ATU, said there is also a difference in the way the two employers negotiate.

"The City of Ottawa has always had an aggressive way of dealing with us," said Graham, who represents transit workers with both the STO and OC Transpo.

He added that he hopes the STO will continue its "fairer way" of negotiating.

Céline Gauthier, spokeswoman for the STO, would not comment on the conflict between the City of Ottawa, which is mainly over OC Transpo's new scheduling proposal.

However, she confirmed that currently, the scheduling systems in the two cities are similar. STO drivers choose their work from shifts posted by the STO, and each day's work can include up to three shifts spread over 12 hours.

"It works very well," she said. "We always try to understand their needs and to have [a] win-win situation."

Gauthier said scheduling is always part of the discussion during bargaining, but the STO has no plans to make big changes to the way its drivers are scheduled.

OC Transpo head Alain Mercier said it is unreasonable to try to compare the scheduling practices for drivers in Gatineau and Ottawa because of the huge disparity in size between the two organizations. OC Transpo is about five times bigger than the STO.