School bus operators threaten action if province doesn't meet with them by Monday

The head of the province's largest organized group of school bus drivers says that if Premier Dwight Ball doesn't give them a seat at the table by Monday, they're prepared to take a public stand and will consider walking off the job.

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Dave Callahan, the head of the Newfoundland and Labrador School Bus Operators' Group, owns a fleet of buses on the west coast of the province.

As buses continue to be taken of the road with mechanical problems, he reiterated that the issues are a direct cause of the public tender act enticing operators to cut corners.

"Government played us a very dirty hand in staggering tender openings and creating a feeding frenzy among operators," he said.

"Some of them are desperate or [otherwise] and giving completely foolish bids. But of course what's more foolish is that they were accepted by government."

Long-standing issue

Callahan told CBC News he is driving to St. John's from the west coast on Sunday and wants to have a discussion with the province about the issue.

"We've been trying to fix this for years but we've been speaking into a vacuum," he said. "It's to the point where this industry is very much broken and in need of repair."

The N.L. School Bus Operators' Group represents about half of the province's bus operators.

Callahan said if the group is unable to meet with government by Monday, they'll be forced to consider taking buses off the road.

"We don't want to harm kids education," he said. "It will be a last resort. Nobody wants to do this."