Among the most contentious pieces of a tentative deal struck between the city and Hamilton Street Railway bus drivers union to avoid a strike last week: A cap on the amount of physiotherapy the drivers can get.
The curb lane's potholes and storm drains make for a rough ride for the drivers, said Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107 president Eric Tuck. ATU 107 members will vote Wednesday whether to ratify the agreement, struck in the wee hours to avoid a strike last Thursday.
"As you can imagine if you've ever driven home in the curb lane, those lanes are just brutal," Tuck said. "It's like riding a bucking bronco. You do that for 8-10 hours a day over 10, 15 years, it really plays havoc on your back and your skeletal frame."
The new, tentative agreement puts a yearly cap of $1,500 a year on the treatments, which at around $85 or $90 per session could mean the drivers get one physio appointment every month covered, Tuck said. Some drivers he knows rely on the appointments weekly to deal with the impacts of driving the bus.
Tuck presented the terms of the new agreement Sunday to the drivers. The meeting "went fairly well," he said.
But he expected and understood the measured response, he said — it's tough news to receive "anytime you're giving something up or you're getting a cap."
The committee also tentatively agreed to a four-year contract. That term, four years, was contentious as the drivers wanted to have a shorter or longer contract that wouldn't coincide with the next municipal election.
Under the tentative deal, the drivers would receive a 1 per cent raise in the first year, with 2 per cent raises in the second, third and fourth year, with some "additional vacation improvements," according to city spokesman Michael Kirkopoulos. The top level driver in the four-step wage scale earns $29.44 per hour currently.
The city also inserted language committing to provide "safe and reasonable schedules" for the drivers, and opened a pipeline for driver committees to submit suggestions and changes to make routes and passenger loads safer and more reasonable, Tuck said. New drivers would receive a $500 signing bonus under the tentative agreement.
"From the City's perspective, we believe this is a fair deal and are grateful to the ATU for their hard work and in helping us collectively reach this agreement," Kirkopoulos said.
Part of what tipped the scales for the ATU negotiating committee to accept the deal was city council's recent commitment to invest $6 million in improving transit service. It showed the drivers that "yes, they're serious" about improvement transit, Tuck said.
"We've had 10 years of them running the system into the ground, and now council is finally ponying up," Tuck said. He said he hoped more money would come from provincial and federal governments. He said he hopes the city will reintroduce an idea to install onboard cameras.
The drivers will vote at the HSR Mountain garage between 4 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Tuck said. "I'm hopeful it will pass."
If the vote passes, council will meet either in a special meeting this week or regularly scheduled meeting next week to ratify the agreement.
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