Job action could cause delays, disruptions for Gatineau transit users, STO warns

Gatineau's public transit agency said it'spleased with a decision by the union representing bus drivers and other employees not to call a full strike, but warned other job action that could begin Friday may still disrupt the system.

The union representing drivers and maintenance workersat Socitde transport del'Outaouais, or STO,advised their employer of job action to begin Friday afterthe Canada Industrial Relations Board declared earlier this weekthat transit is not an essential service in Gatineau leaving open the possibility of a full strike.

The union, representing the 485 drivers and 115 maintenance workers, has said that, so far, drivers plan to take a number of protest actionsincluding wearing jeans, refusing to work overtimeand refusing to work for any special event, such as Winterlude.

Drivers also plan to report any type of defect on buses, even minor ones, which could lead to more buses ending up in the garage.

The job actions could begin as early as 4 a.m. Friday.

Commuters should plan ahead

Gilles Carpentier, STO's president, said at a news conference Thursday that the decision not to strike gives the agency time to step back and considernext steps, but added that the planned job actions could result in disruptions and delays.

STO executive directorLine Thiffeault said transit users should budgetfor more travel time and carefully followinformation provided on the STO'swebsite. Thiffeault also said it's difficult to assess the potential impact of employees who may refuse to workovertime.

No date has been set for an actual walkout.

According to the union, deteriorating working conditions and scheduling are the key issues in contractnegotiations.