CITY FORCED TO SERVE TRANSIT UNION LOCKOUT NOTICE

The City of Saskatoon today served a notice of lockout to the Amalgamated Transit Union, 615 (ATU) after 11 months of collective bargaining, and the Transit Union’s rejection of the City’s final contract offer.  The Transit Union is the only bargaining unit affected by the lockout notice.

“The decision was difficult and not taken lightly, but we need a contract,” says Marno McInnes, Director of Human Resources. “The financial position of the City and its General Pension Plan are at risk.”

McInnes says the decision to serve a lockout notice was driven by mounting financial implications for Saskatoon taxpayers, and concerns over transit service disruptions heading into the winter season.

The General Pension Plan continues to be facing a $6.7M deficit as a result of ATU not agreeing to the Plan.  This would require the City to cover ATU’s deficit.

“Every month of delay will cost taxpayers $90,000, or just over $1M per year.  Transit Union delays also move us closer to freezing temperatures when our customers could be left out in the cold,” McInnes says. “Taxpayers and transit customers need us to act now to resolve this urgent financial issue and return transit operations to normal.”

The contract issue centers on the Transit Union’s portion of the City’s General Pension Plan deficit.  The goal is to address the deficit by increasing contributions from both employees and the City, and to make changes to the Plan design to address the pension problem. 

“We are concerned for the future of the pension plan and it is a serious matter,” McInnes says.

The other eight unions/associations which participate in the General Pension Plan have already reached pension and wage agreements with the City, arriving at solutions that work for both their members and taxpayers.  The Union representing transit workers has yet to reach a deal with the City.

“We have a responsibility to protect the pension plan for the other 2,150 employees and eight other unions that are already on board,” McInnes says. “We have promised that the plan will be there when they need it, and we will keep that promise.”

The Transit Union has a 48-hour period to respond to the City’s notice of lockout –which is in line with the rules governing collective bargaining in the Province of Saskatchewan.

We are hopeful that a last minute solution can be reached; however, it is important that transit users make alternate arrangements well before 9:00 p.m. Saturday, September 20, 2014, in the event of a lockout.

It should be noted that Access Transit is an essential service, and will continue operating as normal.

The City has a responsibility to protect taxpayers’ dollars and the benefits of all City employees.  In that spirit, we have worked hard at presenting a fair and competitive offer to the Transit Union.

The City is offering the transit union a wage increase of 10% over four years (2013 - 2016), and has proposed changes to the General Pension Plan that will help protect it into the future.

The City has offered the same four-year wage and pension package to all the other unions/associations which participate in the City’s General Pension Plan.  Agreements have been reached with eight of these unions/associations; the Transit Union is the only union yet to agree and accept a contract.