A local union official believes the province could see their recent decision to declare transit in the city of Toronto an essential service appealed in Supreme Court.
Last Wednesday Ontario MPPs voted 68 to 9 in favour of the Toronto Transit Commission Labour Disputes Resolution Act on third reading. If approved by the lieutenant-governor, the bill will make the TTC an essential service, which means workers will not be allowed to strike.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 966 president Charlie Brown said the decision seems to say that people in Toronto are more important than in the rest of the province and that it’s unconstitutional.
"It’s a basic affront to collective bargaining and how it’s supposed to be done," he said. "They’re taking away a fundamental right that was fought and people died for in this country close to 100 years ago, so we have a real problem with that."
Brown said to designate something an essential service in Ontario, there is a process and it wasn’t followed here. He added the process in this decision seems "bogus."
While he has concerns about the decision, he said in a community the size of Thunder Bay, making transit an essential service could be helpful at the bargaining table since when both sides hit an impasse, an arbitrator would be brought in and they usually rule in favour of the union.
The City of Thunder Bay and ATU last negotiated contracts last year and Brown said if they had an arbitrator, he thinks they would have done far better in their bargaining.
"On the one hand we don’t believe in essential service and we’d like to retain our collective bargaining rights, but on the other hand if they’re going to shove it down everybody’s throats then it should be everybody in Ontario," Brown said. ""In Toronto, that is a disadvantage for them, but it’s either you’re in Ontario and we’re all equal or we’re not all equal."
Mayor Keith Hobbs said while transit is necessary to many seniors and residents who don’t drive, he doesn’t feel it needs to be declared an essential service.
"I don’t think we have to go as far as what Toronto has done," he said. "I don’t think it’s a major issue in Thunder Bay yet. I hope it doesn’t get to that point. I would rather work closely with management and the union to make sure transit is operational and the public get the best service they can."
As a former union leader, Hobbs did say he was surprised by the decision made in Queen’s Park.
