TORONTO - A strike that could have caused disruptions for travellers headed into Toronto's busy Union Station has been narrowly averted after a tentative agreement was reached with the union representing railway workers Monday night.
Toronto Terminals Railway, a company that provides construction, operations and maintenance services, had set a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
But Bob Fitzgerald, the national president of the Canadian Autoworkers National Council 4000 says negotiators were able to come up with a deal he feels "comfortable" presenting to his membership.
Fitzgerald says he expects the members to vote on the agreement either this weekend or early next week.
He says it will be "business as usual" for railway workers on Tuesday, though he won't rule out a future strike if the deal is rejected.
Earlier in the day Fitzgerald had said the immediate impact of a strike would affect construction in and around Union Station, but he also said it could create problems for travellers.
"The transit in and out would probably be affected later on when there are requirements to inspect the tracks or repair them, there'd be nobody to do that," he said.
However, Via Rail Canada said in a statement Monday that it expected to operate normally through Union Station "in the unlikely event of a strike by Toronto Terminal Railways (TTR) employees."
"Via has been assured by TTR that, if required, an operational contingency plan has been established to ensure that Via trains would continue to operate as scheduled to and from Union Station," the statement said.
Go Transit said on its website that it didn't expect the commuter train service to be affected by a possible strike, adding "it will be business as usual."
In July, Members of the CAW local voted 94 per cent in favour of a possible strike.
The firm works alongside railways and transportation companies such as Via Rail, Go Transit and Ontario Northland, which could also be affected by a strike.
