TORONTO, ONTARIO – (October 25, 2018) – The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113’s bargaining committee released the following statement regarding contract negotiations with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC):
“Toronto’s hardworking public transit workers are pleased with the new collective agreement, which recognizes our vital role in the communities we serve through fair wages and benefits. From the start of the process, ATU Local 113 came to the table in good faith to negotiate a deal, and despite the TTC’s efforts to cut, slash and suspend talks, the arbitrator agreed that the contract should follow years of negotiation settlements and not be based on drastic and unfair concessions. The arbitrator also rejected the TTC’s assertion that City of Toronto workers were an appropriate comparator to our 11,000-person skilled transit workforce, agreeing that comparisons to Metrolinx, Mississauga MiWay and Brampton Transit were more appropriate. To be clear, regardless of the outcome, interest arbitration is no substitute for the fundamental Charter right to free collective bargaining which has been denied to ATU Local 113 through the removal of the right to strike by previous governments.
With the new collective agreement now in place, ATU Local 113 calls on Toronto’s new city council and the TTC to join us in opposing the provincial government’s threat to split up the TTC by taking its subway and putting it on the fast track towards privatization, higher fares and reduced service for riders.”