Thousands stranded as Toronto's public transit system shuts
A sudden public transit strike idled Canada's largest city after Toronto's transit workers voted against a tentative contract agreement, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
By PTI |
TORONTO: A sudden public transit strike idled Canada's largest city after Toronto's transit workers voted against a tentative contract agreement, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
Many of the 1.4 million people who use Toronto's transit system were forced to walk, call cabs or scramble to find other ways to get around yesterday after the 9,000 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union walked out at midnight, hours after rejecting a tentative contract proposal Friday night.
Union leader Bob Kinnear said he was forced to set aside the union's promise to give 48 hours notice of a walkout out of concern for the safety of his members. Kinnear said some workers received threats and abuse from passengers last weekend as the contract was being negotiated.
In response, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty recalled the legislature for a rare afternoon sitting today.
"We will move the back-to-work legislation through the legislative process as quickly as possible," McGuinty said in a statement yesterday.
It was not immediately clear if the legislation would pass before Torontonians' busy morning commute tomorrow.
A tentative deal was ratified earlier this week by the Toronto Transit Commission, and the union had recommended that its members accept the three-year deal, which included annual 3 percent wage increases.
Toronto Transit Commission chairman Adam Giambrone said he was disappointed the tentative deal had been turned down.
"It's going to be very difficult for us to negotiate when we had a contract that was recommended by the union," said Giambrone yesterday.
It appears that a major concern for the transit commission's 3,000 maintenance workers is the outsourcing of their work, which could lead to job losses.
Many of the 1.4 million people who use Toronto's transit system were forced to walk, call cabs or scramble to find other ways to get around yesterday after the 9,000 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union walked out at midnight, hours after rejecting a tentative contract proposal Friday night.
Union leader Bob Kinnear said he was forced to set aside the union's promise to give 48 hours notice of a walkout out of concern for the safety of his members. Kinnear said some workers received threats and abuse from passengers last weekend as the contract was being negotiated.
In response, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty recalled the legislature for a rare afternoon sitting today.
"We will move the back-to-work legislation through the legislative process as quickly as possible," McGuinty said in a statement yesterday.
It was not immediately clear if the legislation would pass before Torontonians' busy morning commute tomorrow.
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A tentative deal was ratified earlier this week by the Toronto Transit Commission, and the union had recommended that its members accept the three-year deal, which included annual 3 percent wage increases.
Toronto Transit Commission chairman Adam Giambrone said he was disappointed the tentative deal had been turned down.
"It's going to be very difficult for us to negotiate when we had a contract that was recommended by the union," said Giambrone yesterday.
It appears that a major concern for the transit commission's 3,000 maintenance workers is the outsourcing of their work, which could lead to job losses.
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