Negotiations between the union representing Metro Vancouver transit workers, Unifor, and their employer, Coast Mountain Bus Company, have not progressed, and now plans have been revealed for the first steps in a strike action slated to begin Friday, Nov. 1 at 8 a.m.
Early Thursday morning, Unifor released details regarding negotiations and the strike action, which would begin with a uniform ban by transit operators and an overtime ban by maintenance workers.
“Beginning Friday, transit operators on all routes will not be wearing the Coast Mountain Bus Company uniform. CMBC’s technicians and skilled trades workers will be refusing overtime shifts. Unifor members believe this first phase helps increase exposure of the negotiations and their need for a fair contract,” explains Unifor.
Having operators out of uniform is meant to encourage conversations between drivers and passengers about the issues they face on the job and their “struggle with [Coast Mountain] to get a fair deal,” notes Unifor.
“Our number one goal is a fair contract that ensures our members are working under safe and reasonable conditions so they can best serve the public,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “To minimize the disruption to the public while still ramping up pressure on the employer, we have chosen a measured level of strike action in the first phase.”
TransLink issued a statement Thursday morning in response to the union’s job action, saying some service could be disrupted.
“Unifor, the union representing Coast Mountain Bus Company bus operators and maintenance trades, has advised job action in the form of bus maintenance workers not doing overtime work. This could mean reduction in bus and SeaBus service as soon as 8 a.m. tomorrow,” read a statement. “Regardless of the job action, many of our services will be unaffected: SkyTrain, Canada Line, West Coast Express, HandyDART, West Vancouver Blue Bus and other contracted services will continue operating normally. We will do everything possible to keep our customers informed, as soon as possible, on service disruptions. To stay informed, customers can sign up for Transit Alerts (alerts.translink.ca) specific to their routes, follow @TransLink on Twitter and check translink.ca.”The overtime ban for maintenance workers will gradually increase pressure on the system and will quickly lead to fewer busses on the roads and could also affect SeaBus service, adds the union.
According to Unifor, TransLink has “normalized overtime” which means any withdrawal of service will cause disruptions.
Contract talks are set to continue as long as necessary on Thursday, with a deadline of 8 a.m. Friday for a tentative re-negotiated contract to be in place.
