Details of the deal have not been shared, pending union members' ratification
A massive strike by Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) workers that would have nearly shut down the public transit system has been put “on hold” after a last minute deal following months of negotiations, according to a report.
Minutes before the Monday midnight deadline set by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113, the union reached a deal with the employer that includes progress on key issues, reported The Canadian Press.
"Our demands have been reasonable. We asked the TTC for assurance on job security, for protections on contracting out our jobs, for improvement in benefits for active members and pensioners," the union said in a statement, according to the report.
"Today we finally saw action on these critical issues," it added.
In April, ATU Local 113 applied to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to request that a conciliator be appointed to step in into their negotiation with the employer.
Things, however, are not all settled yet. The strike is just “on hold” as the union works "through details and to arrive at a fair and reasonable contract that we can recommend to our members to ratify,” according to the CP report published on Yahoo! News.
‘Fair deal that is affordable for the TTC’
Still, Rick Leary, TTC CEO, is "extremely pleased that we’ve been able to reach a tentative framework settlement."
"This is a fair deal that is affordable for the TTC and respectful of the important work the 11,500 members of ATU Local 113 do every day to keep our system safe and our service reliable," he added.
Details of the agreement cannot be shared yet, pending union ratification and approval from the TTC board, Leary said in the CP report.
The last TTC strike in 2008 ended after less than two days when the provincial government legislated employees back to work on the mayor's request.
Previously, about 9,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) who work at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) started conducting a strike vote across the country.
