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An arbitrator has dismissed a grievance by the city’s transit union that, if allowed, would have added $23 million to the City of Ottawa’s severance bill for laying off 340 drivers when the LRT system opens.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 wanted OC Transpo to issue notices of job elimination to the most senior drivers — not the most junior drivers — under the collective agreement.

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Transpo has always said it would need to lay off drivers once it launched the $2.1-billion Confederation Line because there would be fewer buses and the trains would carry more passengers. Each train will need a single worker.

The transit department has still needed to hire bus drivers in recent years, but those junior employees have been warned their jobs could disappear once the LRT system opens.

In fact, because of the LRT construction delays, Transpo has had to keep the drivers around longer than anticipated. Rideau Transit Group, the LRT builder, has indicated it will hand over the LRT system to the city by the end of March, which means the rail line could be open to the public as early as sometime in April.