(Posted 5:30 a.m., Jan. 8)
Transit arbitration ruling hailed as major victory for city
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

An arbitration ruling allowing OC Transpo management full control over the scheduling of bus operators could end up saving the city millions of dollars, but ultimately result in another bitter labour dispute when the exising contract expires in 2011.

That's the good news and bad news attached to an arbitration panel ruling released on Thursday which basically sides with city management on the most controversial issue stemming from last year's 53-day bus strike.

According to the arbitration panel, language in the Collective Agreement needs to be amended "to reflect a day booking system and that it is the employer, not the operator, that is responsible for putting the work together".

The ruling is a huge blow to the union which was given control over scheduling by the city in the aftermath of the murder-suicide incident at the St. Laurent garage in April 1999. In the year's since the provision has allowed senior drivers to book preferred routes and shifts and amass incredible amounts of overtime if they so wished.

The system worked well for the first five or six years, but more recently it's resulted in ever escalating overtime costs which have increased by more than $4 million in the last four to five years.

Control of scheduluing was at the heart of last year's labour dispute because it was the sole mechanism the city could use in getting costs under control. At the same time, it was a luxury the union was determined to hold onto. Now they no longer have control, it's likely to be a bone of contention during the next collective bargaining process when the current contract expires in 2011.

Between now and then, the union and OC Transpo management must come up with a scheduling system that allows the city to limit overtime but still respects driver seniority.

The panel did rule in the union's favour on two related issues. When arbitrator Brian Keller rerleased his initial findings in October he ruled that operators were entitled to a minimum shoft of 7.5 hours.

The city's interpretation of the ruling was that it only pertained to regular full-time operators. The union had a different opinion. They believed it applied to all operators. The panel upheld the union's interpretation in ruling that the 7.5 hour minimum applied to any operator who had previously been entitled to the six-hour minimum, including spares.

The 7.5 hour guarantee is a minor victory which pales in comparison to the ruling on scheduling especially in light of the fact that Keller had already ruled in favour of the city in the matter of sick days and compensation.

When the strike ended the union was still holding out for wage increases of 9.5 per cent over three years and six additional sick days. Keller ruled against an increase in sick days and limited the wage increase to 3.25, 2.5 and 2.5 per cent over the three year term of the agreement which more closely mirrored the city's offer.

With the last remaining issues having been ruled upon, the city is hopeful that it can implement a new scheduling system by this spring.

In an internal memo distruibuted to city councillors obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, OC Transpo general manager Alain Mercier says moving quickly to finalize a new bus operator scheduling system so that it will be in place for the first booking in 2010, which is due to take place early this spring.

(This story was made possible thanks to thie generous support of our local business partners.)

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