School bus drivers and monitors are rallying in London over planned reductions to student transportation monitor positions they say could put students and drivers at risk. The Teamsters union says approximately 67 school bus monitors in Southern Ontario are expected to lose their jobs this summer as a result of cuts involving the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB). The union held a rally Wednesday in London, calling on the school boards and government to reverse the cuts before the new school year begins. Most school bus monitors are assigned to buses serving special education students, while others work on regular routes where special education students ride alongside other children, according to the union. Brenda Kukhta, a school bus driver and rally organizer, says monitors play an important role in keeping both students and drivers safe. “It’s going to be very scary for the kids. And it’s also going to be very scary for the drivers that require a monitor on the bus,” Kukhta said. She said monitors can also intervene when students are in crisis or when there is violence on a bus. “Sometimes we do have some violence on our buses, and the monitors are there to intervene,” she said. The concerns come after Voyago, which employs the monitors and provides student transportation services to both school boards, sent an email to student monitor staff on July 31. In the email, Voyago said it had received its route assignments from Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services and had been advised of reductions to monitor staffing. The company said route adjustments are common each year and can continue to evolve. Voyago also told employees that only monitors assigned to a route would attend scheduled start-up meetings and that affected employees would be contacted directly as operational needs became clearer. Teamsters says the staffing reductions will result in about 67 monitors losing their jobs. Drivers at Wednesday’s rally say losing monitors could leave them dealing with behavioural emergencies while trying to safely operate a moving school bus. Jennine Hammond, who has driven a school bus for eight years, says monitors help prevent distractions from escalating into dangerous situations. “Without monitors, our drivers aren’t safe,” Hammond said. “We don’t have anyone to protect us from distraction. And we don’t have anyone to help us.” Teamsters says monitors are trained to help de-escalate crises, including situations involving students who are screaming, banging their heads against windows or otherwise in distress. The union says drivers and monitors have been beaten, bitten, pushed, scratched and injured on the job. Christopher Monette, Teamsters Canada director of public affairs, says the cuts put drivers in an “impossible situation.” “It puts drivers in an impossible situation, and it puts the students themselves at risk,” Monette said. He called on the school boards to reverse the cuts. Sherri Conrad, who has worked as a school bus monitor for 15 years, says the job is about more than managing difficult situations. “It’s very enjoying getting to know these children that need us,” Conrad said. “And the drivers need us because they can’t watch the students.” According to the union, monitors earn $18.60 an hour, work split shifts, and do not receive paid days off. Teamsters says the cuts are being made at the expense of workers and students who rely on specialized transportation support. The union is calling on the Thames Valley District School Board and London District Catholic School Board to restore funding for the monitor positions before classes resume in September. The two boards work with Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services to provide student transportation. CTV News reached out to both the TVDSB and LCDSB, but as of publication time have not heard back.
