The delegation includes bus representatives involved in the dispute who are meeting with the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union (OPSEU) to ask for their assistance in finding a fair resolution to the dispute.
More than 1,300 Unite bus company members have been on strike for four weeks demanding better pay and working conditions.
The OPSEU pension fund, run by OPTrust, owns a majority stake in one parent company of Go North East and a majority stake in another.
If OPSEU were convinced by the delegation, it could play a big role in solving the problem.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said: “Unite will do whatever it takes to ensure pay equity for our members at Go North East, and that includes crossing continents to lobby the company’s key financial players operate.”
“Unite will continue to strengthen this campaign until the dispute is resolved and these workers receive a fair pay rise.”
Unite believes the dispute could be settled for less than a quarter of the CEO’s annual salary, or less than one percent of the group’s £50 million profit.
Unite regional coordinating officer Suzanne Reid added: “Unite’s leverage campaign has already taken us from Tyneside to Toronto in the fight for fair pay and we will not stop until Go North East recognizes our members’ entitlement.”
Ben Maxfield, chief executive of Go North East, previously said: “The public is fed up with this strike, which has left people unable to get to work, school, hospital appointments or just for a day out.”
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“People cannot understand why Unite would declare a total shutdown over a 10.3% pay rise that would make its members the highest paid bus drivers in the North East.”
“It is high time for the union to come back to the table and have constructive discussions instead of moving the goalposts, staging strikes and disrupting the everyday lives of bus passengers.”
Go North East has been contacted for further information.
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