KITCHENER —
The Region of Waterloo has come to a tentative agreement with the union representing Grand River Transitemployees, but it’s not time to celebrate yet for dispirited commuters.
The tentative agreement was made at 7:02 p.m., with the union’s ratification vote scheduled for Jan. 30. Regional council will then need to ratifiy the deal, but there’s no timeline set.
While this is a big step forward for transit users, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the strike: a previously-reached tentative deal was voted down on Jan. 19, which is what led to strike in the first place.
Waterloo Region CAO Mike Murray says that buses will not start service again until both sides have ratified the deal.
That means riders will likely be waiting until the end of the week before service starts again.
“Pending the results of the vote a special meeting of Regional Council will be convened as soon as possible to consider ratification,” the region said in a tweet on Tuesday evening.
“The Region appreciates the public’s patience and understanding as we work towards getting the buses back in service.”
The union, Unifor Local 4304, represents about 700 GRT employees, including operators, dispatchers, fleet mechanics and service attendants.
Talks had broken off last week and resumed Tuesday morning at around 11 a.m. Murray says that both sides were at the table until just after 6 p.m.
Key among the issues were workplace safety, the union says. In the previous tentative deal, the region had agreed to install safety barriers on all of the buses in the Grand River Transit fleet.
Murray says that, under the terms of the latest tentative agreement, those barriers will start to be installed this year.
