Could 2024 bring a transit strike to Metro Vancouver?

The union representing more than 180 Lower Mainland transit workers says its employees are underpaid and overworked.

"For us to do our jobs effectively, we need the company to keep pace with staffing levels and maintain the fair compensation needed to retain workers," said Chris Gindhu, President of CUPE Local 4500 in a news release.

Although no formal strike notice has been given, workers voted 100 per cent in favour of job action during a Dec. 12 strike vote.

The union and the employer, Coast Mountain Bus Company, are heading back into talks on Jan. 2 and Jan. 3, 2024.

"Both parties have agreed to continue talks with the assistance of a mediator," said Michael McDaniel, president and general manager of Coast Mountain Bus Company in an email.

"We don't anticipate service disruptions at this time."

According to TransLink, around 300,000 people per day use its bus service across the Lower Mainland.

The union did not provide further comment on the potential for escalated job action, such as a walk-out.

This past year has seen strike action across several sectors including transit workers in the Fraser Valley, where service was cut off area for several months amid heated contract talks.

Port workers, teaching aids and sugar factory staff also took job action.

"Workers were basically backed into a corner and so they came out swinging – and that's why you're seeing strikes all over the place," said Lindsay Meredith, Professor Emeritus at SFU who specializes in macro-economics and marketing.

Meredith says inflation and rising interest rates put financial pressure on unions to seek higher wages for their members. Additionally, a labour shortage gave employees added leverage in negotiations.

"Employees aren't afraid to drop employers now and go to other alternatives in the blink of an eye. All of these things contribute to a thing called 'labour mobility,'" Meredith told CTV News.

Jasroop Gosal, research manager with the Surrey Board of Trade, says labour issues continue to plague businesses in the city.

"Almost all businesses are hiring," said Gosal. "They're looking for the right fit, for the right person with the right qualities and experience, and there just seems to be a mismatch between what's out there and what employers are expecting."

Despite 2023 being a year of labour unrest, Meredith believes things will settle down next year.

"Once the interest rates start to come down – and that'll probably be by summer 2024 – you'll see a bit of pressure come off the paycheques that are getting mauled so badly by interest rates and inflation," said Meredith. "When that happens, workers might start to simmer down a little bit."