Calgary bus drivers want better wages and sick pay, talk unionizing

Calgary bus drivers with Southland Transportation are considering unionizing as wages stagnate, and the province’s bus driver shortage continues.

Scott Henderson, the organizer of the Southland School Bus Drivers Labour Union, says better wages and benefits are what’s needed, especially with a bus driver shortage province-wide.

He says drivers don’t get any paid sick days, and they’re getting paid minimum wage.

“There’s not a whole lot of people willing to work with such great responsibility for perception, little wage compensation,” Henderson told CityNews.

“Bus driver shortage isn’t just about drivers. It’s about the whole community.”

But Kyle Johnston, the vice president of corporate services with Southland Transportation, says drivers are actually getting paid more than the minimum wage.

“We find it actually is a fantastic job for a lot of folks. The pay is more in the area of $24 an hour, up to $28 an hour. So a bit different than the minimum wage,” he said.

“For a lot of folks, it’s the best job they’ve ever had.”

However, Johnston admits that employees do have limited benefits.

“As part-time, we have limited [benefits], but really four hours a day, part-time seasonal just doesn’t really fit in for most employers…and so we mainly focus on the wage aspect,” he explained.

Read More: Edmonton kid sometimes waits 90 minutes, is late for school due to bus driver shortage

It takes six weeks for drivers to get trained, but Anderson says the retention is so poor that drivers don’t last long and with a shortage already.

He says that means kids are coming to school late or not at all, and drivers are having to do double routes.

“Drivers. Buses are going out late. Drivers are taking double routes. Kids are getting to school late,” he said.

“Some kids aren’t going to school parents or are taking time off work to drive their kids to school.”

https://twitter.com/TimeToUnionize/status/1638217466475061251

Alberta’s 2023 budget increases school transportation funding by $414 million over the next three years, with $93.5 milling through to 2024, $160 million in 2024-25, and $160 million in 2025-26.

The funding includes an additional 100 bus routes for rural students in the area and driver training for 1,250 people, which includes implementing 350 drivers, increasing the workforce by six per cent.

Henderson says it sounds good on paper but hopes it is used properly.

“if this funding is available, I’m just hoping it’s not going to be directed into the wrong problem and thinking that it’s going to be a solution,’ he said.

“Right now, it takes about six weeks for a driver to be trained. A lot of people don’t have that time. And Southland does not pay for that six weeks. I don’t know how you know somebody could possibly even budget in a family and go into that.”

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Around 300,000 students are transported using school buses in the province.

The Calgary Board of Education says 24 of the 603 routes are without a regular driver.

Southland Transportation did not respond to multiple requests for comment.