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Unifor’s Road Transport Council strongly condemns the Ford government’s stalling of contract negotiations with school bus operators in Grey Bruce and call on the government to resume contract talks immediately.
This delay has pushed workers, families, and entire communities into an avoidable crisis. Without secured contracts, operators and drivers cannot complete essential safety duties, including mandatory inspections, preventative maintenance, route planning, driver scheduling, and dry runs. These tasks are fundamental to ensuring children arrive at school safely and on time. Allowing negotiations to languish places students, parents, and communities directly at risk.
The lack of stable contracts has also forced drivers into precarious circumstances, with some now facing the difficult decision to seek work elsewhere. This level of uncertainty is dangerous for workers and destabilizing for families who rely on consistent, safe transportation for their children. No worker should be pushed into insecurity because the government refuses to act.
This situation reflects a broader pattern of chronic underfunding in Ontario’s education system under the Ford government. Transportation funding has failed to keep pace with inflation, rising labour costs, and the realities of delivering service in rural and northern regions. When governments refuse to invest in the full system, the pressure lands squarely on workers, operators, and families. Grey Bruce is now experiencing the consequences of years of downloading costs and delaying decisions.
Unifor stands in full solidarity with school bus operators, school bus drivers, students, and parents in Grey Bruce. Ontario’s children cannot learn if they cannot get to school, and no worker should be forced to shoulder the burden of systemic underfunding. It is shameful that the Ford government has allowed the situation to deteriorate to this point, placing students, parents, and communities in the crosshairs of its inaction.
Our communities are stronger when workers are respected, families are supported, and public education, including transportation is properly funded. The Ford government must act now to solidify the contracts required to retain a skilled and experienced workforce that is essential to keeping students safe, and that provide stability for this community. Unifor members across the sector know firsthand the challenges of securing stable contracts, and we stand united in demanding better for workers and the communities they serve.
