West Nipissing school bus strike continues after union rejects latest offer

Playing null of undefined

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The union representing striking school bus drivers with Alouette Bus Lines says members rejected a new three-year contract offer from the bus company in a vote Friday morning.

Around 80 bus drivers walked off the job Feb. 23 after rejecting the company’s initial contract.

The main issue is wages. Alouette drivers would like to be paid between $21-$22 an hour. They currently earn a little more than $18 an hour, far below the Ministry of Education’s recommended pay level of $23.

“The original offer that the employer gave us for the first year was to $20 and they did move that up,” said Stephanie Gunson, United Steelworkers Local 2020 president.

Gunson said the three-year offer included a yearly wage increase by a dollar and that the vote ended up being close.

“We did see the $21.10 in there that we have been pushing for. That would kick in Year 2 of the contract,” she said.

“But Year 3 fell far short of what we were looking for in increases and that’s where the membership mainly pushed back on it … We were looking for at least the $22.10 in the Year 3 and it fell far short of that.”

In a news release Saturday, Alouette Bus Lines said its proposal was “fair” and disputed the union’s characterization of the offer.

“The company proposed an additional increase to $21.10/hour in 2026, the wage sought by the union,” said Kevin Gillis, a senior vice president with Alouette Bus Lines.

The company also said it offered to increase wages retroactively to September 2025 by more than 10 per cent, with an additional offer of $20.55 per hour effective the day the new agreement was signed.

“This proposal would make our bus drivers some of the highest paid in this region and would have seen our bus drivers receive a first-year pay increase of almost 14 per cent,” the company said.

The company noted that in 2025, the average first-year increase for employees in the transportation sector across Canada was 3.5 per cent.

“The company is reviewing its options to ensure that the parties achieve a fair collective agreement,” said Gillis.

Serves 1,912 students

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.

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 to and from school.

The union is continuing to put Education Minister Paul Calandra and the Nipissing-Parry Sound Student Transportation Services on notice about the strike.

Last week, in a letter to families, consortium executive director Chuck Seguin wrote that some families who have been coping with the six-week strike will soon be eligible for financial assistance.

“At the end of the day, the membership sees that the consortium has been willing to try and gather money to pay the families that have been affected by this,” Gunson said.

“If they’re able to do that, why can’t they help out with the wages that we’re seeking?”

The consortium has not issued a notice of contract termination to Alouette Bus Lines.

Timiskaming-Cochrane NDP MPP John Vanthof raised the issue to Calandra at Queen’s Park. Calandra responded, reminding him that the province is not at the bargaining table, but he expressed frustration at how long the dispute has taken.

“We’re hopeful that they (Alouette) are going to come back with something else. In the meantime, we continue to appreciate all the support from everybody that’s been supporting us,” Gunson said.

“We will be back on the picket line Monday morning.”

In its release, Alouette Bus Lines confirmed it had agreed to further meetings with the union.

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