NEWS Strike at Oakville Transit averted DAVID LEA dlea@oakvillebeaver.com A possible strike by Oakville Transit bus driv ers and maintenance workers has been averted. A spokesperson of Un- ifor Local 1256, the union representing the Oakville Transit staff, announced late on Jan. 31 that they had reached a tentative agreement in their con tract negotiations with the Town of Oakville. A press release issued by the group said they were poised to strike at 2 a.m. on Feb. 1 if a fair agreement could not be reached. "These were difficult negotiations, but the issue of respect and fair recogni tion for quality work was something our Unifor made a priority to fight for," said Jerry Dias, Un- ifor national president. "I want to congratulate the bargaining committee for their work to defend the core principle of de- cent work and fairness and for seeking to ensure the public was not disrupted." Jane Courtemanche, the town's director of strategy, policy and com munications, said the town is pleased to have reached the tentative agreement. She said it is now up to the union membership and town council to ratify it. Courtemanche said the agreement was reached the night of Jan. 31, but noted she could not com ment on any of the settle ment's details until the ratification takes place. She also pointed out that had the union decided a strike was the best op tion, they would have needed to give the town 72 hours' notice before the job action actually took place. The union represents 200 Oakville Transit driv ers and maintenance workers. On Jan. 21, the union voted 96 per cent in favour of legal strike action if nec essary, and for a time, it appeared negotiations were heading in that direc tion, with Dias stating on Jan. 31 that "the employer has not taken bargaining seriously, which makes it impossible to negotiate." Unifor national repre sentative for Local 1256 Tom Dattilo also ex pressed frustration on Jan. 31. "Our members take pride in servicing the pub lic in Oakville," he said. "But, front line public transit work can be diffi cult, and at times danger ous, so we expect respect from the employer and fair compensation." Dattilo said the tenta tive agreement would cov er a four-year term and ad dress the core issues ex pressed by the member ship. Members of Local 1256 will vote on the deal on Feb. 4, after which more details will be released. C R A T a x D is p u te s D is p u te w it h S o ld R e n ta l P r o p e r ty D is p u te w it h B u s in e s s O p e r a t io n L o s s e s Experienced Professional Services for Individual Business & Corporation YY@YangAccounting.ca Y i n g ( K i m b e r l e y ) Y a n g 11-1155 North Service Rd. W, Oakville 18th Floor, 2 St. Clair Ave. W, Toronto (2 8 9 )2 9 1 -3 9 2 4 (6 4 7 )2 5 5 -8 0 4 9 Farewell foot pain O ur fo ot care s ta rts w ith education. We trea t all fo ot issu es so yo u can live w ith o u t p ain & im p rove m obility. ■ Best Chiropodist/Clinic/ • We put care Orthotics provider since 2004 & service first! ^ 905 6321414 9 728 Burloak (South of the QEW) L IT T L E 6 IR L S ARE SLIfrHTLY M O R E d e m a n d s by Steve Nease AMD I WERE LITTLE. W E USED TO BUILD SIMPLE H / S T E VE N SO NWH E LTO N Ma c DONALD&SW AN LLP O R D E R O N L I N E A T W W W .O A K V ILLE.M RSG RO CERY .CO M • O R CALL 2 8 9 -8 1 3 -7 7 0 8 SAME DAY DELIVERY TO YOUR HOME OR OFFICE. GROCERIES DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR! WE'LL SHOP ANY STORE IN OAKVILLE! PERSONAL INJURY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE PLA C E YOUR O R D E R . W E D O TH E S H O P P IN G . IT E M S A R R IV E . PA Y M E N T AT D O O R . w w w .M r s G r o c e r y .c o m tfiinuiUiY e i iso 12a ma Experienced Trial Lawyers Serving Oakville, Milton and Burlington SWLawyersca 1540 Cornwall Road 9 0 5 .8 4 2 .3 8 3 8 -■>1| O akville B eaver | Thursday, February 8, 2018 insidehalton.com mailto:dlea@oakvillebeaver.com mailto:YY@YangAccounting.ca http://WWW.OAKVILLE.MRSGROCERY.COM http://www.MrsGrocery.com Strike at Oakville Transit averted Our foot care starts with education. We treat all foot issues so you can live without pain & improve mobility. LITTLE 6IRLS ARE SLIfrHTLY MORE by Steve Nease AMD I WERE LITTLE. WE USED TO BUILD SIMPLE H/ST E VE N SO NWH E LTO N PERSONAL INJURY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE SWLawyersca 1540 Cornwall Road 905.842.3838