Bus strike subsidy coming for Nipissing families

Playing null of undefined

Northern Ontario student transport consortium working on subsidy for families affect by bus strike

Drivers rally as talks with Alouette Bus Lines remain deadlocked

School bus driver strike passes 2-week mark

Replacement workers take over striking bus routes

Northern Ont. school bus drivers on strike after drivers reject deal

Some families who have been coping with a six-week school bus driver strike by Alouette Bus Lines will soon be eligible for financial assistance, the consortium responsible for student transportation in the region announced in a letter to parents on Thursday.

The Nipissing-Parry Sound Student Transportation Services (NPSST) said it recognized that families affected by the ongoing service disruption may be experiencing financial pressures as they provide alternate transportation for their children to and from school.

The consortium said it is working with several stakeholders to develop and implement a subsidy program that would provide financial help to parents or guardians who are transporting their children to school.

“The subsidy would be retroactive to the start of the service disruption,” wrote NPSSTS executive director Chuck Sequin in the letter.

Further details on eligibility and how the program will operate are expected to be released this month.

CTV News has reached out to the consortium for more details about how the subsidy will work and who may be eligible but has not yet received a response.

Consortium, school boards not involved in labour dispute

The labour disruption began Feb. 23 when about 80 drivers with Alouette walked off the job after rejecting the company’s latest contract offer.

“The NPSSTS and the school boards have no influence on contract negotiations between bus drivers and their employer, Alouette Bus Lines,” the consortium has consistently said in communications to parents and media.

The strike affects 67 routes serving approximately 1,912 students across all four area school boards in West Nipissing, North Bay and the Parry Sound area.

The consortium has not issued a notice of contract termination to Alouette Bus Lines over the service interruptions as of Friday.

Wages, replacement workers, and political attention

The key sticking point in contract negotiations is wages. Alouette drivers currently earn a little more than $18 an hour and want between $21 and $22 per hour, which remains under the Ministry of Education’s recommended pay level of $23.

While more than a dozen routes resumed at the beginning of March with the use of replacement workers, hundreds of students are still without transportation.

On Thursday, Timiskaming-Cochrane NDP MPP John Vanthof raised the issue at Queen’s Park with Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra. Calandra said the province is not at the bargaining table but the minister expressed frustration at how long the dispute has taken.

Posts on the social media group Stand With Alouette Bus Drivers indicate that the union, United Steel Workers Local 2020, plans to hold demonstrations at the transportation consortium’s offices this week.

With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Madison Marier and Eric Taschner

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