It’s an emotionally charged issued, especially if you’re one of those thousands in London who depend on public transit to get to school, to work or to critical appointments.

The way public transit is appreciated in London, it’s no accident that the victims of any work stoppage will be the young, the elderly and the poor. Certainly they, and their supporters, are likely to be among those pressing the provincial government to get involved in any strike or lockout that lasts beyond a few days or arguing the right to strike should be taken away from these workers.

And I have a lot of sympathy for that point of view. But let’s look at two realities here.

First, while being declared an essential service might guarantee no work stoppages, it does not guarantee the service is performed efficiently and most definitely doesn’t guarantee costs are controlled. Quite the contrary, in fact.

City police and fire fighters, for example, go to an arbitrator when they can’t reach a mutual settlement. Over the years arbitrators have imposed settlements that cherry pick the most generous points in contracts elsewhere. This is why police have a retention clause in their contract which pays them to stay in London, even though keeping police here has never, ever been a problem. One reason why policing costs are rising about three times faster than inflation. Now fire fighters have the same perque.

Second, London has the poorest record among Ontario cities of subsidizing public transit. One consequence is the pay scale among the lowest of Ontario cities. So its quite understandable why drivers are pushing back; a surprise, in fact, they haven’t done it earlier.

City council wants to stay out of this labour dispute on grounds London Transit, while owned by the city, operates at arms length. That ain’t gonna wash if a strike goes on long. The city, in fact, could guarantee it doesn’t happen by shifting more of the federal gasoline tax rebate where it belongs – to public transit.

So although for many people London Transit is an essential service it doesn’t need to be legislated as such. All it needs is for the City of London, its council and its citizens to recognize that fact and start providing the financial support it requires.