Union for HandyDART workers suspends job action pending votes on new contract

The union for employees of British Columbia's HandyDART transit service says it's suspending all job action pending a vote on a final contract offer from employer Transdev Canada.

There had been the possibility of strike action on the door-to-door service on Monday if a deal wasn't struck.

Joe McCann, president of Local 1724 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, says the vote will happen soon after information meetings being held Sunday and Monday for members.

Transdev Canada says in a statement the offer was tabled "after extensive negotiations," and the company is working to rebook trips that were in jeopardy due to the impending work stoppage.

TransLink, Metro Vancouver's regional transit provider, warned that the service could be disrupted next week as the deadline for contract negotiations was set to expire Sunday evening.

TransLink said that even if the strike went ahead, service would continue for those needing rides to medical treatments for cancer and other illnesses.

The union said last week that it had been in negotiations with France-based Transdev, the contracted operator of HandyDART, since November last year, and in June its more than 600 members voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

The union statement had said members would begin a "full work stoppage" Monday unless a tentative deal was reached, after a "series of escalating job actions" that began last month.

McCann said the employer had "stonewalled bargaining" during negotiations. which he described as being focused on both workers and riders who have been negatively affected by "extreme staffing shortages."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2024