‘Too many hands in the cookie jar’: Union presses LTC on Paratransit contract dispute

Paratransit drivers in London have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed contract from their employer, Voyago. Reta Ismail reports.

Paratransit drivers in London have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed contract from their employer, Voyago, setting up possible strike action.

According to the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), the starting wage is $18.50 an hour, and officials say that doesn’t meet the demands of the job.

“I’ve never had an issue with an employer like I had with Voyago and this is really the London Transit Commission’s issue, because they contract this work out, you know, they dispatch the work, we pick up the money and give it to London Transit,” said ATU President Ken Wilson.

This is the first contract negotiation since London’s Paratransit operators joined the ATU earlier this year, aligning with LTC drivers.

“It’s almost like there’s too many hands in the cookie jar, and I don’t know why London Transit doesn’t take this back under their own umbrella,” said Wilson.

— With files from CTV News London’s Reta Ismail