An Update on the OC Transpo Strike

So things are getting a bit ridiculous here in the capital, anyone agree? OC transpo has been on strike now since December 10th of 2008. The City has been putting all kinds of offers on the table, but the Union has consistently walked away, mainly because their demands concerning scheduling are not being met.

I don't think very many citizens of Ottawa are particularly pleased with OC Transpo. Because of the timing, it's being called "the strike that ruined Christmas." Besides drivers who have to deal with heavy traffic, the two main groups of people being hurt by this strike are students and seniors.

Students are beginning to be accommodated with carpooling and some yellow buses, and the City has being trying to coordinate rides for those in need, but still, many are slipping through the cracks. Seniors, many with conditions such as diabetes, are missing their doctor's appointments.

And what of the OC Transpo employees in all of this? They are only being paid $50 a week, and only if they picket a certain amount of hours. Who knows how long the Union will even be able to keep this up? Alain Mercier (Oh, him again... *shudder*) is warning us that, even after the strike, it could be three months- yes, THREE MONTHS- before the buses, which have not been touched in ages, are all back in working order.

I think the City is right to hold firm. Many reasonable offers have been made. However, they are at fault in this: It is their legal right to put together a temporary replacement service. They say that they have only recently become aware of this. So my two questions are as follows:

1) WHY didn't they know? It is their job to be informed on these matters and to consider all options. I think that they should have known, and frankly, I'm not entirely certain that they're being truthful when they claim that they were unaware.

2) Why aren't they acting on it now? Even a partial service would help immensely. I'm aware that it takes time to train bus drivers and set it up, but they're not doing it! And I think that some of the OC drivers would cross the picket lines at this point. That vote wasn't unanimous.

So here we are, with no end in sight.

Bus Strike

All of Ottawa's OC Transpo workers just went on strike.

Let me give you some context:

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in the winter, in the snow and ice, when traffic is already the stuff of nightmares. Christmas shopping season.

Oh. Joy.

The main issue in this strike is scheduling. Under the planned budget, the city believes it can save a lot of money if it controls driver's scheduling. Previously, the drivers have been allowed the priviledge of scheduling themselves, but there were two main issues with this system.

The first is that it was possible for a driver to work for less than eight hours a day while still recieving the full day's pay. I don't understand how this happened, so I'm not going to go on and pretend I do. However, this was a fairly common situation.

The second issue is that some drivers were scheduled shifts with as little as four hours in between. This is problematic if the first shift ended at two in the morning, and they were back behind the wheel by six. In fact, this becomes a safety concern; how alert can a driver in this circumstance be? Again, I'm not understanding how this happened...

Whatever the case, there does not appear to be any ending in sight. I don't know the figure of how many people relied on OC Transpo, but I can guarantee that it was high.

I am not a regular bus traveler, but now I don't even have the option, and it has affected me. traffic is terrible. Yesterday it took me three and a half hours to get to school; usually I can get there in 45 minutes.

I don't know the guy, but from radio clips I can't say I'm terribly impressed with Alain Mercier, the union representative. Things are at a standstill and everyone is getting frustrated.

Can't any sort of management be carried out effectively in this country?