Transit union will meet Ottawa officials Monday to resume talks
Last Updated: Sunday, January 25, 2009 | 5:26 PM ET
CBC News
The union representing Ottawa transit workers said it will meet with city officials to resume negotiations on Monday, the same day thousands of people are expected to rally on Parliament Hill for an end to the longest bus strike in the history of the nation’s capital.
Randy Graham, vice president of the International Amalgamated Transit Union, will meet with a federal mediator and Ottawa city representatives on Monday at 10 a.m., the union said Sunday on its website.
About 2,300 transit drivers, dispatchers and maintenance workers walked off the job on Dec. 10.
The city's new scheduling proposal has been the main issue of disagreement between the city and the workers represented by the union.
On Saturday, city council passed three motions to change its negotiating terms and invited transit workers back to the bargaining table in a bid to end the strike that has crippled the city for seven weeks.
Mayor Larry O'Brien told reporters council would not make public what the city has revised in its bargaining position.
The motions passed on Saturday were related to orders to change the negotiating position, safety caveats for work and rest time, and communicating changes with the union.
On Jan. 8, transit union members voted 75 per cent against the city's most recent offer, which was issued on Dec. 23. Since then, both sides have suggested limited arbitration, but have been unable to agree on the conditions.
Federal Labour Minister Rona Ambrose has said the federal government has no plans to legislate transit workers back to work. OC Transpo is under federal rather than Ontario jurisdiction because some of its routes pass into Quebec.
Transit workers could still be forced back to work by an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board, if the board finds there is an immediate and serious danger to the health and safety of the public.
The board is reviewing submissions from the public, the city and the union. However, the city's solicitor told city council Wednesday that his own analysis had concluded that the strike posed no immediate and serious danger.
At noon Monday, thousands of transit users are expected to gather on the Hill to pressure the union and the city to negotiate a deal to end the strike.
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