Replacement workers take over routes of striking bus drivers in northern Ont.

More than a dozen bus routes resumed Thursday morning in the North Bay and Parry Sound areas, even as the Alouette Bus Lines school bus driver continues.

More than a dozen bus routes resumed Thursday morning, even as the Alouette Bus Lines school bus driver strike continues.

The replacement workers took over several routes as contract negotiations hit a brick wall as the main issue centres on what is a ‘fair wage.’

On the picket line, strikers said they were still determined to get a fair deal. The 80 bus drivers have been off the job since Feb. 23.

“There are parents that are actually not sending their kids to school as a way to express that they’re striking with us,” said Julie Larabie, president of United Steelworkers Local 2020.

In total, 14 school bus routes resumed Thursday with replacement workers behind the wheel.

Sophie Larocque, a parent of two boys, said she hasn’t been able to send her kids to school since the strike began. One goes to a school in River Valley, the other in Sturgeon Falls.

Rely on school buses

“Many of us rely on the school buses so we can get to work and keep our households running right?” Larocque said.

“So without transportation, we’re all scrambling for rides, adjusting our work schedules like I did today.”

Bus drivers have been without a contract since late August. The main issue is wages: drivers earn just more than $18 an hour, $7 less than their counterparts in Sudbury.

“The fair wage we’re asking is not much,” Larabie said.

“As drivers, we’re compromising on what we’re asking.”

In a previous statement, Alouette Bus Lines said it offered drivers a 15 per cent wage increase. And the company expressed regret about the labour disruption, accusing the union of using students as bargaining chips.

“The company has worked constructively with union negotiators to achieve a new collective agreement and remains committed to continuing negotiations,” the statement said.

Demands are reasonable

“Alouette Bus Lines has offered a wage proposal ensuring that our school bus drivers would be amongst the highest paid drivers in the region.”

Larabie said the union’s demands are reasonable.

“If we can start a contract at $21.10 and work our way down, like, a dollar every year just to catch up to that $23 that the Ministry of Education set out, I think that’s being fair,” she said.

The strike impacts nearly 2,000 students on 67 routes in West Nipissing, North Bay and the Parry Sound Area.

For her part, Larocque said school bus service is vital for parents like her.

“Without them, we wouldn’t have the services,” she said.

“The longer it lingers, a lot more absences will happen at school. I’ve worked in the schools. I’ve worked in daycares. I know what it’s like working with kids. The bus drivers get it all.”

The Nipissing-Parry Sound Student Transportation Services is urging parents to check the list of cancellations on its website each morning as it continues to work on contingency plans.