Mediator called in to negotiate end to HandyDART strike

HandyDART workers walked off the job Tuesday morning, saying until they get a new contract they will only offer clients rides for specific essential medical services, such as cancer treatment.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724 has been in negotiations with Transdev, the French multinational that runs HandyDART for Translink, since November.

"We really just want fair wages.We want comparable wages as close to conventional buses as possible. We feel that it's our time to bridge that gap," said a driver named Gislaine who is also a shop steward with the union.

Transdev declined to make anyone available for an interview.

“Our priority remains to reach a fair contract that balances the needs of our employees, HandyDART clients, and taxpayers," the company said in a statement. "We apologize to the community for the public impact of this collective bargaining dispute.”

Premier David Eby weighed in on the labour dispute during an unrelated news conference.

"It's absolutely vital that the drivers and the company are at the table to hammer out a deal on this thing," he said.

The two sides do plan to get back to the bargaining table, but not until Sunday.

According to Transdev, that's when the employer and union will sit down with a mediator to try and reach common ground.

While the 600 workers remain off the job, many people who rely on the service as their primary means of transportation are caught in the middle.

Julio Cristales uses a motorized wheelchair because he has stage four kidney cancer which spread to his spine, paralyzing him from the waist down.

"I use HandyDART quite a bit. It's a great service when it works," he told CTV News during an interview at his Coquitlam home.

Over the weekend, before the strike began, Cristales used the service to travel to Vancouver so he could watch his teenage son's football game.

The lengthy trip involved a pickup at his house and a transfer to a second vehicle at Burnaby Hospital, which took him to Carnarvon Park on Vancouver's westside.

It was the trip home where things went awry.

Burnaby Hospital was once again the location of a scheduled transfer to a different vehicle.

As the driver pulled away from the hospital, Cristales dozed off.

When he woke up, he discovered the driver had taken him back to Carnarvon Park, nearly 30 kilometres from his home in Coquitlam.

The ride had been subcontracted to a cab company, and the driver made Cristales disembark at the field and then left him there.

Before leaving, the driver acknowledged it was a dispatch error that led to the mistake.

Cristales was able to arrange another ride through HandyDART but in the end it took him four hours to get home.

"Not everybody is like me and is able to do that," Cristales said. "Say I didn't have a cell phone and I wasn't able to communicate with somebody, that would be really hard. I don't know what they would be able to do, right?"

Union representatives say subcontracting to cab companies has been another sticking point in contract negotiations.

"There's no reason for them to be contracting when we have all of these drivers that are here and willing to work," Gislaine said.

Despite his ordeal, Cristales does appreciate the service provided by HandyDART.

During the strike, he will still be able to get to his essential medical treatments, but he won't be able to go watch his son's football games.

"It's good for my mental health to be able to get out and see my sons play," Cristales said. "It means a lot to me."

That's why he's hoping for a swift resolution to the job action.