Laval bus drivers continued their two-day strike on Saturday, leaving transit users without any service.
Hundreds of bus drivers marched in solidarity on Saturday to send a message to their employer. They want better pay, better schedules and a reduction in service on certain routes.
Union advisor Anthony Latour says bus drivers have been without a collective bargaining agreement for two and a half years and the Laval transit authority is unwilling to negotiate.
“When it comes to quality of service and quality of workers, we are simply not on par with what is being offered,” says Latour.
“They are not serious at the table. We want to negotiate and we feel sorry for the population of Laval, it is the STL that is forcing a strike today ”.
On Friday, the service was offered during peak hours, but on Saturday, 625 bus drivers left work and the service was completely canceled.
In a statement on its website, the STL apologized for the inconvenience and said it regretted that the union made the decision to go on strike despite ongoing negotiations.
It says another meeting between the parties is scheduled for Monday, November 29.
Paratransit and shared taxi services were not affected by the strike. Regular service is expected to resume on Sunday.
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Reference-globalnews.ca