Ont. driving examiners ratify deal to end strike
Last Updated: Friday, January 1, 2010 | 8:59 AM ET
CBC News
Most of Ontario's driver examination centres will reopen Monday after their employees ratified a new collective agreement following a four-month strike.
The 590 employees at the province's DriveSafe centres voted about 72 per cent in favour of a tentative deal reached before Christmas with their employer, Serco DES Inc., United Steelworkers Local 9511 president Jim Young said.
Serco DES is the private company contracted in Ontario to administer written and road tests for new drivers and those over age 80.
The employees voted over several days across the province, and results were announced late Thursday.
The strike affected 93 full-time and part-time DriveTest sites, and prevented many Ontarians from getting new driver's licences or renewals since August.
The main sticking points between the two sides included wages, benefits and a proposal to increase the number of part-time employees at the expense of full-time jobs.
Serco DES has said that to address a sizeable backlog of people waiting to take driving examinations, the company will hire 100 new employees in the next four weeks to deal with the crunch, which is expected to last several months.
DriveTest also asked people not to book new road tests for within the next two to three weeks while it clears its queue of drivers who missed an exam because of the strike.
"Our members are anxious to get back to work and provide the quality services that Ontarians deserve and rightfully expect," Wayne Fraser, United Steelworkers District 6 director, said in a release. "I am proud of our members for fighting the good fight."
With files from The Canadian PressShare Tools
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