A union local that represents nearly 12,000 Toronto Transit Commission workers says it has struck a “framework settlement” with management, averting a strike that would have caused chaos for millions of commuters.
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113 said in an update shortly after 11:30 p.m. that the framework settlement allows allows it to put a planned strike on hold. The union local had planned to strike just after midnight Friday if no deal had been reached with the TTC.
“We will continue to work through details and to arrive at a fair and reasonable contract that we can recommend to our members to ratify,” ATU Local 113 said in the update.
“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. Today we finally saw action on these critical issues.”
The union local said it would continue to provide updates as things progress.
The union represents operators, fare collectors, maintenance and station staff and other frontline employees who account for roughly three-quarters of all TTC staff.
The two sides had been in collective bargaining since February, with union representatives saying previously that wages, benefits and job security were the main sticking points in talks.
Union members voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in April, after their previous collective agreement expired at the end of March.
This was the first time unionized TTC workers were in a legal strike position since 2011. Last year, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that a 2011 law that forbade them from walking off the job was unconstitutional.