The Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) announced on July 28, 2017, that in accordance with Bill 24, it was requesting that a mediator be appointed to facilitate negotiation of a new collective agreement with its drivers.
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3333, which represents the RTL bus drivers, is making clear that the employer is doing this by choice and is not required under law to do so.
The mediator, Lise Lavallée, has called an initial meeting on Friday, September 8.
CUPE 3333 reiterates, as its president Sylvie Champagne had noted in July, that the main issue holding up negotiations remains unrealistic travel times.
RTL’s 2016 annual report documented an increase of more than 21% in user complaints about bus travel.
For the union, there is no doubt that more realistic travel times would increase the quality of service and, as a result, user satisfaction.
“You don’t improve user service by just creating slogans, as the RTL appears to believe,” stated Ms. Champagne. “You do it by following schedules that are realistic for both users and drivers.”
With nearly 115,000 members, CUPE-Quebec represents approximately 7,272 ground transportation workers in Quebec. CUPE is also active across a broad range of sectors, including health and social services, communications, education, universities, energy, government corporations and public agencies, air and ground transportation, the mixed sector and the maritime sector.