Julius Ezpeleta, who has worked for GO Transit since Bombardier Inc. took over the maintenance of the trains four years ago, explained that the main issue in the strike is wage parity with the rest of the industry.

"We’re asking for $19 an hour for the service worker classification," he said. "We think you need that to survive in the Toronto region." Ezpeleta said the current base rate for the maintenance workers in $16.78 an hour, compared to over $20 an hour workers are paid performing the same duties for the Toronto Transit Corporation, the city’s public transit system. In voting to strike, the workers narrowly rejected a company offer that would have raised wages 3 percent for each of the next three years.

"When Bombardier first took over the maintenance at GO Transit, we accepted this situation," Ezpeleta said. "But five years later, it’s the same thing. Now they want to pay low wages like five years ago. They don’t want to give us a raise because they are ripping off the workers.

"The striking workers have been without a contract since December 31. They are employed by Bombardier and contracted out to GO Transit. Bombardier Inc. is the world’s largest manufacturer of rail transportation equipment, and the third largest civil aircraft manufacturer.  
 
 
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