Low pay and tough working conditions are contributing to driver shortages, say unions and employers
Labour disputes and a lack of school bus drivers in Quebec are disrupting transportation throughout the province, compelling parents to find alternatives and some kids to miss class.
While some institutions experienced no trouble, others said they are facing challenges in regions from the Montérégie, in the province’s south, to the remote Côte-Nord, where alternatives like public transit are scarce. “On average 35 pupils per day for all sectors have had absences related to transport,” spokesperson Maude Jutras wrote in an e-mail.
“Even if accessible school transportation for all is an undisputed desire of the Ministry … it is not a right guaranteed by the Education Act. School transportation remains a privilege,” a ministry employee wrote in an e-mail to Ms. Bénard reviewed by The Globe. Ms. Dubé said school bus drivers are often paid close to minimum wage for a job where the schedule – a little over 20 hours per week divided into two shifts per day, and no work in the summer – means it’s even harder to make ends meet.and are about $2,400 per driver. But Ms. Dubé said they were still not high enough to be an incentive and called on Quebec’s Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, to get involved and force carriers to raise drivers’ wages.
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