Talks between Acadian Lines and the union representing the bus line’s drivers, maintenance workers, customer service representatives and mechanics have broken down.
The 59 workers, who have been without a contract since Dec. 31, voted 98 per cent in favour of going on strike last month. They could be in legal strike position as early as Nov. 21.
The talks broke down on Friday afternoon when Acadian Lines walked away from negotiations, said Glen Carr.
Carr is president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1229 in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, which represents the workers.
“We were negotiating and the conciliator came back with an offer and we sent one back to them and then they walked out,” Carr said.
Acadian Lines couldn’t be reached this weekend to comment on the negotiations.
Last month, Denise Sirios, a spokeswoman for Acadian Lines, said services would be interrupted if the workers go on strike.
She said the bus line doesn’t have a plan in place to keep service going if that happens, adding that Acadian Lines was trying to be optimistic about reaching a deal with the union.
“Obviously the service will be disturbed but we don’t have any plan at this point,” she said at the time. “We’re really working to come to an agreement with our employees.”
Issues the two sides are grappling over include pensions, wages, hours of work and job security.
The union doesn’t want to strike, but time is running out to negotiate a deal, Carr said.
“It’s a short window. If the company’s not willing to move now and sit at the table to negotiate, that window gets shorter. The clock is ticking.”
He said the union is dragging negotiations out until the 11th hour, similar to past negotiations in 2008.
The union nearly went on strike then over the same issues, but reached a deal with Acadian Lines at the last minute.
Carr said he understands a strike would affect students who rely on the bus lines to travel home.
“The last thing that our union wants to do is going on strike,” he said. “We don’t want any disruption to students or the travelling public.”
A bus driver himself, Carr drives the bus back and forth from Moncton to Rivière-du-Loup, Que.
“We’re the front line for this company. We try our very best.
“We want to continue that. But it’s pretty hard to talk to ourselves.”
