Commuters in Durham Region could soon face potential disruptions to transit services if the union representing the region’s transit workers fails to reach a new collective agreement by June 7, 2025.
“Despite 12 days of negotiations, Durham Region Transit (DRT) and Unifor Local 222 (the Union representing front-line DRT employees) have been unable to reach a renewed collective agreement,” Bill Holmes, the general manager of DRT said in a statement issued Sunday.
“DRT and Unifor have engaged in productive discussions to improve the quality of work for all employees. Unfortunately, Unifor requested a No Board Report from the Ministry of Labour and it was issued on May 21, 2025,” he added. “This means that Unifor Local 222 will be in a legal strike position effective June 7,2025.”
Holmes says this doesn’t automatically mean there will be a strike on June 7, but it is a possibility.
“Unfortunately, we are unable to provide more certainty or assurances right now,” he said.
Negotiations between the union and the transit agency began on March 31, 2025.
Last week, 616 unionized transit workers – from operators to maintenance, dispatch and specialized services – voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike action.
The union representing those workers says a key outstanding issue is closing the gap on wages.
“Transit workers in surrounding ‘905-area code’ municipalities with similar populations and growth projections, such as in Mississauga and Brampton, earn as much as $5 more an hour than their counterparts in Durham Region for the same work,” Unifor Local 222 wrote in a press release issued on May 22, 2025.
“It’s time to close the wage gap,” said Unifor Local 222 President Jeff Gray. “Our members deserve equal pay for equal work. Their skills and dedication to the job must be recognized in the next contract.”
