Strike drags on leaving potential drivers and their driver trainers frustrated

Thirty new drivers in Kenora and Dryden are backlogged in the DriveTest system waiting for testing, taking their place among 4,000 province-wide since the United Steelworkers 9511 began a strike on Aug. 23. Another 30 are set to start classes this week.
While the DriveTest phone system is re-registering potential driving tests in a ten day cycle in case the strike should end and the number of those waiting across the province builds, however, prospective drivers who can reach the heart of Toronto are still being tested.
According to the provincial Ministry of Transportation, 1,040 G1 and 246 M1 written tests were performed in an outlet on Bay Street; the only remaining publicly owned office after all others were privatized to Serco.
Kenora Young Drivers of Canada centre director Maria Bagdonas sees the practice as discrimination based on geography.
“Why are they only limited to offering it at that location,” she asked. “As a member of the public, I believe I should have the right to go into a Service Ontario post and have at my disposal the same services at each Ontario kiosk and that’s not what’s happening now.”
Although the local Young Driver’s in-car employee’s job is safe for the time being, Bagdonas said private driving training companies are beginning to lay off personnel as the strike drags on.
Jim Young is the president of the Steelworkers 9511. He said holding onto the single outlet in downtown Toronto was a political decision.
“They wanted to keep it for the bigwigs, for the high profile people including the politicians at Queen’s Park,” he said.
The union proposed an indepth plan to Minister of Transportation Jim Bradley, which would have put his membership back to work for the public sector, as further labour negotiations remain unscheduled. The minister declined his proposal.
“In this plan, we proposed setting up satellite locations - maybe not in all 56 permanent locations but in the majority of them - under the guidance of the Ministry of Transportation. Our issue is not with the general public or the businesses, it’s with our employer.”
PC Transportation Critic Frank Klees rose in the legislature on Monday to call on Bradley to resolve the strike, seeing challenges begin to permeate the transportation sector.
“Jobs are being lost because truck drivers can’t upgrade their licences, new drivers can’t get licences with the result that they can’t get jobs, and they can’t enrol in new job training or college programs,” Klees said. “Serco is not meeting its obligations under the contract they have with the province of Ontario … Why has the Minister not stepped in to ensure that they meet those obligations and that Ontarians aren’t held hostage?”


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