City officials say job action from the transit union is limiting bus service by at least five per cent.
A report, which was tabled Monday to the city’s governance and priorities committee, says between five and eight per cent of transit service is not being provided to users because of the transit union’s ban on overtime.
The report states those figures are consistent with transit overtime usage, which has so far made up 5.24 per cent of operator salaries this year.
The Amalgamated Transit Union took job action just over a week ago in the form of work to rule and a ban on overtime. In that time, service has been disrupted in various areas in the city. Access Transit has not been impacted.
City officials say Saskatoon Transit is focusing on keeping primary transit routes running as usual.
A new plan, implemented following complaints of service disruptions for high school routes, will see shuttle services deployed from malls to high schools. The city says the plan will result in dependable school and core service during the ban on overtime.
In a news release, the city says, if job action escalates, further delays, cancellations and overcrowding on some buses are possible.
Transit workers have been without a contract for four years. The union and city cannot reach an agreement on workers' pensions.
