Bus driver strike looming as start of school nears

Winnipeg's largest school division is warning parents its bus drivers could be on strike just as school is scheduled to start.

The Winnipeg School Division says the drivers union has served notice to proceed to a legal strike position as of September 8.

"In the absence of a new offer, the UFCW 832 Bus Drivers working in Winnipeg School Division met this afternoon to start prepping for a strike that will commence on September 8," the United Food & Commercial Workers Canada Local 832 (UFCW), which represents the drivers, says in a release on Wednesday.

The union and the school division have been bargaining since October 2019 after the drivers' contracts expired in June of last year.

In early March, 71 drivers voted 100 per cent in favour of a strike mandate, but the union delayed a strike deadline for its members later that month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We truly feel for the parents here, but drivers are constantly being faced with increasing demands with fewer resources and compensation, and when you have an employer that’s being unreasonable, you have to stand up,” says Bea Bruske, UFCW 832 Secretary-Treasurer.