Driving Instructors Rally At Queen’s Park, Want Provincial Drive Test Centres To Reopen

Three months after Drive Test employees walked off the job, driving instructors are holding a rally at Queen’s Park.

“It's affecting us very badly,” said one woman at the protest. She has been a driving instructor for 27 years.

“About 10,000 instructors in Ontario are financially very hard hit. We have no work. We are educators; we are supposed to be teaching.”

The strike began on August 21, preventing new motorists from acquiring a license.

"Most Ontarians are not even aware that the strike has stretched for 100 days," the instructor added.

That put hundreds of people who teach driving out of a job and on Monday, they took their protest to the Ontario government.

The instructors have at least one ally: Progressive Conservative MPP Jim Wilson introduced a private members bill last week that would force 600 employees back to work.

The legislation, called the DriveTest Labour Dispute Resolution Act, 2009 would force DriveTest operator, Serco-Des Inc., and the United Steelworkers Local 9511 to resolve their dispute through binding arbitration.

Liberal and NDP MPPs abstained from voting.

Rally at Queen's Park Mon Nov 30th to end Drivetest Strike

Here is some info for all, please feel free to come if you can make it. Bring signs and let the government know you want and end to this strike! I would not normally contact you from the petition site but I felt all needed to know what was going on. Sorry if you already had this info. I am attaching a file in notepad that has all the Liberal MPP's email addresses in it. Please feel free to email them to tell them how you feel about the strike and encourage them to pass Bill 225, This is the first and last time I contact you from the petition emails. Thanks for your support. Please read the press release below. Best wishes,


Press Release



On Monday November 30th beginning at 8:00 am Driving Instructors from across Ontario will converge on Queen's Park for a rally in protest of the lingering Drivetest examiner's strike. MPP Frank Klees (Conservative transportation critic), has assured us that he will be speaking on our behalf at Queens Park. Over 10,000 driving instructors and driving school owners have been silently suffering due to the impasse in bargaining which has been going on since August. They are in very serious financial difficulty. They are prepared to take their position to the legislature and confront the liberal government on Monday and rally in support of MPP Jim Wilson's bill to end the strike. MPP Wilson stood in the legislature and said, "Dalton McGuinty has already overseen the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs,… Ontario can't afford to see driving instructors and training schools lay off staff, nor can we support the inability of young people to get a license so they can get a job." The driving instructors of Ontario will be at Queen's Park Nov. 30th to support quick passage of MPP Wilson's bill.

PROTEST(RALLY) AT QUEENS PARK -TO END ONGOING DRIVETEST STRIKE

All the driving instructors of ontario are planning big protest rally on 30-11-2009 at queens park to end ongoing drivetest examiners strike so we request all the ontarions to come forward and support us. You can come and join us at queens park or call ur local MPPs to vote in favour of Back TO Work bill .For more information visit LINK

Picketing examiner being charged with uttering a death threat

Last week, tensions between picketers and truck-driving students – taking drive tests at a supervisor-staffed site in Lindsay – resulted in a one picketing examiner being charged with uttering a death threat.

The trucking industry has also been hard hit by the strike. Jay Poothappillai, owner of Jay's Professional Truck Training Centre in Scarborough, said he has 40 students waiting for tests. "I don't know why the government isn't doing anything," he said.

His students were the ones blocked from takings tests in Lindsay. "It was a really bad, ugly scene."

The Kawartha Lakes Police Service confirmed one worker was charged with uttering a death threat.

Local MPP tables bill to end DriveTest strike

Progressive Conservative MPP Jim Wilson (Simcoe-Grey) introduced legislation today that would end the 14 week old strike between DriveTest and its 600 employees.

The bill passed First Reading by a vote of 14-0, with Liberal and NDP MPPs abstaining.

"More than 368,000 people have been negatively impacted by this strike," said Wilson. "With each passing day thousands more are held back from getting a job because they can't get a drivers license. It's hurting our economy."

If passed, the DriveTest Labour Dispute Resolution Act would send the 600 employees back to work right away, while DriveTest operator, Serco-Des Inc., and the United Steelworkers Local 9511 would resolve their dispute through binding arbitration.

The DriveTest office in Barrie re-opened Monday with limited services being offered.

"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 enroll in new job training or college programs," said Frank Klees, Progressive Conservative Critic for Transportation and Infrastructure, who has been after the McGuinty government to resolve this matter since it began.

Three months DriveTest strike continues. How long will it go?

Truckers, unable to obtain or renew their licences, rally against the DriveTest strike this month at the Ontario legislature.

A rally is planned for Nov. 30

A rally is planned for Nov. 30 when driving instructors from across the province plan to head to Queen's Park to issue a call for government action to end the dispute.

Fourteen weeks and counting...

DriveTest employees Corin Visinski, left, and Doris Price continue to picket outside the Renfrew DriveTest office on Plaunt Street as the labour dispute enters its 14th week

Is it fair for thousands of individuals to be punished for the preference of a mere 590? Over 11 weeks ago, 590 DriveTest employees all over Ontario walked off the job, demanding improved job security. Every day from that point on, 4,000 people have been unable to obtain their licences.

That's not even taking into the account the effect of the strike on the families of those unable to obtain their licences; in total, well over a quarter of a million people have been affected by the selfishness of just over 500 individuals. Students and other people all over the province are all presently unable to obtain their licences, many of them consequently unable to get jobs.

Limited servicess offered at 6 DriveTest centers in Ontario

The only DriveTest Centres that will be open are:

• Brampton
• Toronto Port Union
• Ottawa Canotek Road
• Kitchener
• North Bay, and
• Thunder Bay

Services:

• Written tests for all classes of license,
• Road tests for commercial classified licenses, and
• Out-of-Province and Out-of-Country license exchanges


Road tests will not be provided at this time for any non-commercial licenses such as the G2 or G road tests.

Road Test appointments currently booked in this system will not be honored.

DriveTest strike raises hard questions

...
Even so, this strike cannot help but raise difficult questions for the company, its employees, the government and, most important, for the people of Ontario. Is it right that employees of a private company should have a monopoly on a public service and be able stop Ontarians from having access to that service?

...

http://news.therecord.com/Opinions/Editorials/article/629061

Comment from DriveTest employee on the strike.

I am a drivetest employee and I can't believe how me and my coworkers are threatened, intimidated, coersed and bribed ($400 cash per week strike pay for 24 hours picketing) into supporting this stupid strike. The union give you ballots to vote on the offer but you have to put your name on the envelope so they know who you are. The USW tells us there are all sort of scary things in the company offer but I read it and it doesn't say what they say it does. Then in the middle of all this they tell me to go vote for the head guy at the USW who is going to lose his job in the coming elections. Is that the real reason we are on strike??? I thought unions were supposed to protect workers...not play games with them.

City TV


One more:

I too am an emplyee of Serco. The vote was a joke. One box going from city to city.AH AH. Serco cannot fight employees who do not want to return to work for them.
The union wants us back with MTO and MTO does not want us. So we are really out of luck. I would love to see the offices reopen and to see how many of us would be back to work. I think this is the only way to see if the 78 percent of employees really voted against the contract

Now we have official information on partial resumption of DriveTest services starting Today

Important Information on the Partial Resumption of DriveTest Services November 12, 2009

Due to the ongoing labour disruption, DriveTest will only be providing very limited services at six of our DriveTest Centres.

DriveTest will only be serving customers who need their licenses for employment or if they have registered for driver training. Customers should be prepared to substantiate that they need their license for employment or training purposes. For those customers, the only services provided will be:

• Written tests for all classes of license,
• Road tests for commercial classified licenses, and
• Out-of-Province and Out-of-Country license exchanges

Road tests will not be provided at this time for any non-commercial licenses such as the G2 or G road tests. Road Test appointments currently booked in this system will not be honored until the strike is over and services have fully resumed. If you have a road test booked, it will be cancelled automatically without penalty.

Any customer who holds a license that expired on or after August 24, 2009 will continue to be covered under the automatic license extension put in place by the MTO. Therefore, these customers do not need to come to a DriveTest Centre at this time.

The only DriveTest Centres that will be open are:
• Brampton
• Toronto Port Union
• Ottawa Canotek Road
• Kitchener
• North Bay, and
• Thunder Bay

http://www.drivetest.ca/

Some GTA Testing Centres Open As DriveTest Strike Continues

Paul Dalglish, managing director of DriveTest, said two testing centres in the GTA will open Thursday staffed by existing managers. One is in Brampton and the other in Toronto (see location details below).

Four other testing centres in Ottawa, Kitchener, North Bay and Thunder Bay will also open their doors.

Service at these sites is limited to drivers who need their licences for employment or who’ve registered for driver training. Here’s what DriveTest will be offering during the strike:
Written tests for all classes of licence,
Road tests for commercial classified licences only, and
Out-of-province and out-of-country licence exchanges.

DriveTest won’t be conducting G2, G or D1 licence road tests.

The local union chief said striking workers will do their best to stop employees from entering test centres. Job security and seniority issues continue to be a sticking point.

“We are very disappointed that our employees voted to reject our offer”, Dalglish said in a statement Thursday. “We would be keen to get back to the bargaining table if we thought the USW was serious about trying to reach an agreement. However, the last time they presented a response to our offer it included at least 10 brand new demands. That’s not the way good faith bargaining is supposed to work.”

The Truck Training Schools Association organized a protest earlier this month at Queen’s Park, demanding an end to the strike.

Trucking and driving schools have been hit hard by the job action and are scrambling to stay afloat amid low enrollment numbers and sagging profits.

Here's a look at the two GTA DriveTest locations:

Toronto, Port Union
The Village of Abbey Lane Shopping Centre
91 Rylander Blvd., Unit #109A
Scarborough

Brampton
59 First Gulf Blvd, Unit #9
Brampton

What can I say: No DriveTest strike END :(

November 11, 2009

Members of USW Local 9511,

Regarding:      Results of Vote on Employer’s Final Offer and Press Release One

The Membership of USW Local 9511 has given a resounding NO to the Employer’s latest offer. A vote tally was conducted on November 11, 2009 and 78% voted against the Employer’s Final Offer that was presented to the Union on November 1, 2009.

There was an increase in the total number of ballots received from our Membership for this second “FINAL OFFER” the Employer presented.  The 78% represents an increase of 4% above the Employer’s original “FINAL OFFER” vote.

After 12 weeks into this labour disruption/STRIKE, this sends a strong message to Serco DES Inc. (DRIVETEST) that our Membership is more determined to establish what is fair and right. We can only hope that they will finally LISTEN to their Employees, quit playing counter-productive games and negotiate a fair contract to get their Employees back to work.  There must be change. The Bargaining Committee remains committed to obtaining a fair and equitable Collective Agreement for all our Members. The only way that we can effectively do this is with the continued support of the Membership.  See you on the picket lines and remember we will last one day longer than the Employer.

Working in Solidarity,

Jim Young 

The voting results will be announced on Wednesday November 11, 2009.

DriveTest employees are voting on the final offer from their employer, Serco DES Inc.
The final outcome of the vote will be announced on Wednesday November 11, 2009.

Truck driving instructors and students say Ont. DriveTest strike is killing jobs

These are people that have lost their jobs in the past in the manufacturing industry and they thought trucking would be a good career for them, yet they come in only to find out there's another set back - they cannot go for road tests," said Gus Rahim, president of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario.




The strike is also affecting instructors who are getting laid off because enrolment has come almost to a standstill, and opposition parties say it's time for the government to step in to force an end to the strike.


Premier Dalton McGuinty said the government was encouraging both sides in the dispute to come to an agreement but wouldn't get involved in the negotiations.


Labour Minister Peter Fonseca insisted the government must let the collective bargaining process take its course, despite any inconveniences.


http://www.cjbk.com/news/14/1016904

Final Serco's offer the employees will vote on

Final offer from Serco

DriveTest Employees to vote on Serco's offer

This Thursday and Friday (Nov.5th and 6th) they are going to vote on 'final offer' from Serco. Union indicates that they wanted to REJECT the offer, but finally allow members to vote on it. They will have pre-vote meeting to urge employees to vote against the offer.

Read more...

Striking Driving Examiners Expected To Vote Against Latest Offer

There appears to be no end in sight to the strike by Ontario’s driving examiners, now heading into the 10th week, as frustration continues to grow for would-be motorists and driving school owners try to cope with dismal enrollment numbers and dwindling profits.
...
Local union president Jim Young said the employer submitted a final offer and members are set to vote on it later this week, but the results aren’t expected to be good.


City news...

DriveTest Gives Striking Workers "Final Offer"

Locals hopeful that a strike by DriveTest employees would end today are out of luck. The strike of nearly 600 employees, including four at the Simcoe office, continues into its 11th week after talks failed to bring any satisfaction over the weekend. The union says Serco DES has given them their "final offer," which is being reject by union leadership. They will still take the offer to their members to vote later this week, but say improvements are minimal.