By a 9-to-1 margin, about 450 school bus drivers in the Scarborough, Ontario area ratified a new contract that provides significant pay increases, a service bonus and other improvements.

On April 29, the members of Local 938 in Mississauga, Ontario, who work at Stock Transportation, approved the five-year contract.

Highlights include:

• A reduction in the daily hours workers need to drive in order to get paid, from four hours to three hours;

• An immediate pay increase of between 15.5 percent to 24 percent covering the three-hour daily minimum;

• A 3 percent increase per year covering the hours beyond the three-hour minimum;

• A reduction in the time it takes workers to reach the top pay level, from three years to two years, and

• A service bonus of $25 per month, up to $250 per year, with 3 percent increases in the bonus per year.

"Local 938 represents about 3,000 school bus drivers at Stock in the Toronto area," said Craig McInnes, a business representative with the local. "We continue to organize Stock locations in the Toronto area. This contract is just the latest success we’ve had in providing Stock workers the security they deserve."