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TheStar.com | Canada | Driving examiners begin to walk off the job
Aug 21, 2009 05:30 PM
Precious Yutangco
<!-- CREDIT 1--> Staff Reporter
<!-- ARTICLE CONTENT --> Although negotiations continue between the union representing Ontario's driving examiners and their employer, some disgruntled workers have begun walking off the job.
DriveTest Centres remained opened today as United Steelworkers local 9511 ordered its workers to go to work as scheduled, ignoring a third strike deadline of 8 a.m.
Local 9511 originally voted to walk off the job at 2 a.m. on Thursday if a deal was not reached, but negotiations continued past that deadline.
They set another deadline for 2 a.m. this morning.
Then confusion arose when union president Jim Young circulated a letter to members saying that talks had broken down and that they would be entering a strike position at 8 a.m. today.
But less than hour before picketing was supposed to begin, a short statement signed by the bargaining team was posted on the union's website, informing examiners to go to work as talks continued.
Several hours later, the same message still appears on their website.
At this point, the union has been in negotiations with Serco DES Inc., their employer, for two days straight.
This afternoon, United Steelworkers director Wayne Fraser said the union has received reports that DriveTest employees across the province have started picketing, despite the request from negotiators to continue working.
No new strike deadline has been set said Marie Telly, the director's assistant.
"We're not going to put a new strike deadline in place," she told the Star early this afternoon. "It doesn't mean we won't strike, we just won't be telling you when we're going to."
At 7 a.m., Young told the Star it had sent an offer to Serco and was waiting for them to approve it.
A few hours later, Telly said they had received a counter-offer from the employer and were still in discussions.
If a strike goes ahead, it will affect all 55 full-time DriveTest locations and 38 occasionally open centres. Both are the only facilities that grant licences to novice drivers and renew licences for motorists over 80.
Negotiations between the union representing the examiners and their employer continued throughout the night, with a union representative saying that a deal was being decided upon earlier this morning.
In the event of a strike, regular renewals of licences for drivers who do not require testing will continue to be available at Ontario Driver & Vehicle Licence Issuing Offices.
However, the Ministry of Transportation is ready to enact new legislation that would extend the expiry dates on licences, meaning that no one would lose driving privileges they already have, said Dalglish of Serco DES Inc., the employer of the examiners.
