If you're planning on taking an ONTC bus in the next few weeks, you may or may not need to have a "plan B".
Tony Wentzell. the Chairperson of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Division 910 told BayToday that he's concerned that bus service may be affected by the lockout of Unifor repair and maintenance employees.
"We were advised by the company that they may have to start cutting services because they're not sure they'll be able to keep all the buses on the road. They have outside mechanics and some outside contractors helping maintain the buses but at the very beginning of this lockout we were advised that in a few weeks time there very well could be reductions in service because they just wouldn't have the buses on the road."
It hasn't happened yet but Wentzell says he's getting concerned because it's getting so close to Christmas.
The union leader says its a fairly slow period now but if the lockout continues for a few more weeks he's not sure how long the company can keep the bus routes going.
"They're going to have to start making cuts."
Wentzell says he was advised of the possibility by his immediate supervisor the day the lockout started, and adds that some casino charter trips have already been affected.
"They've given me some trip numbers and said that a trip out of Sudbury and a couple of trips out of North Bay may very well be affected."
But Rebecca McGlynn, Manager of Communications and Marketing for the ONTC disagrees.
"It's not true. At this time we have the resources available to continue our service. We are currently managing our operations, ensuring that customers can continue to take the bus. We're operating as scheduled every day including the Christmas period.
"I assure you there are no route cancellations or equipment shortages," McGlynn continued.
In an email, McGlynn noted:
- Ontario Northland is equipped to reliably provide transportation during the holiday season. Our service will operate as scheduled. We monitor passenger levels and will be adding extra service as required.
- The labour disruption has not impacted our scheduled service.
- Picket lines are currently present at our North Bay and Cochrane Stations and passengers are notified of short delays entering and exiting the stations.
- Our service operates daily including Christmas Day and New Years Day. Please visit www.ontarionorthland.ca for tickets and schedule information.
- Thanksgiving is our busiest travel period of the year, however, Christmas is busy for bus parcel express shipping service. We encourage customers to ship early and be sure to prep and label packages.
Meanwhile Andy Mitchell, of Unifor local 103 says the union has called the company trying to end the lockout.
"We put in a response to their final offer and they're holding firm to their final offer. We said 'We're open, we'll meet with you if you want to discuss our proposal', but they've yet to discuss it."
Mitchell says morale is still good within his membership, but "A lot of people are shocked. Why would their employer do this to them?"
He says this date, November 27th is significant.
"It was 21 years ago on this day when Ontario Northland locked out its workers in the shop before. This isn't the first time Ontario Northland has locked its workers out. Back then we were out for 88 days."
