Bus cancellations expected as union declares overtime ban for drivers
Credit to Author: Jennifer Saltman| Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2019 00:21:03 +0000
Transit bus drivers will refuse to work overtime on Friday and on three days next week, after contract talks between their union and TransLink’s Coast Mountain Bus Company broke off on Thursday for a second time.
The union said the ban could take 10 to 15 per cent of buses off the road, while the company suggested up to 10 per cent. That would caused major problems for transit users, who have been dealing with SeaBus and bus trip cancellations for almost two weeks thanks to an overtime ban by maintenance workers.
The overtime ban will also be in effect on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week.
“This will have significant impacts on the travelling public,” Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor’s western regional director, said. “The bus system is the backbone of our transit system in Metro Vancouver. Without it, not much functions around here.”
Both the union and the company said it is hard to predict where the bus service disruptions will be felt, but riders are advised to sign up for transit alerts and to allow extra time for their commutes. The company said some routes will have gaps in service and there will likely be overcrowding.
Near Renfrew SkyTrain station, transit users Jacob Muschamp and Emil Safrasbekjan expressed concern about getting around the city.
Muschamp depends on buses to get to work at a grocery store and Safrasbekjan takes them to work at a language school.
“I don’t have an alternative,” said Safrasbekjan, 19. “I told my work colleagues that if there is an issue, maybe, I might be late, but they completely understand.”
Muschamp, 18, said he has taken taxis home from work late at night when buses didn’t show, but it’s too expensive at about $25 a ride. Both men said they don’t see cycling as an option with winter coming.
“I just don’t know what to do,” Muschamp said.
SkyTrain cars leave Brentwood SkyTrain station in Burnaby earlier this year. Contract talks broke off Tuesday between SkyTrain workers who operate and maintain the Expo and Millennium lines and their employer, B.C. Rapid Transit Company.
So far, the strike has included a uniform ban for bus drivers and an overtime ban for maintenance workers. Those actions will continue, said the union, which represents bus drivers, SeaBus workers and related maintenance staff.
There have been 142 SeaBus sailings cancelled since the strike began on Nov. 1 — including six on Thursday — and frequency was reduced on 25 bus routes during the morning rush on Nov. 8 because of the overtime ban by maintenance workers.
McGarrigle said there was progress during Wednesday’s talks on working conditions for bus drivers, but the company was still unwilling to discuss issues such as wage parity for bus drivers in Metro Vancouver with those in Toronto, and wage parity for skilled trades workers at Coast Mountain Bus Company with those at SkyTrain.
“It became very clear to us during discussions and both parties have mutually agreed that our positions are too far apart for there to be a basis for settlement, and so both parties have agreed to end discussions at this point,” McGarrigle said.
“Our bargaining committee has taken this bait-and-switch by the company where they claim to want to talk about outstanding issues as a very provocative move on the part of the company, and confirmation that they were never serious about addressing the outstanding issues.”
Unifor western regional director Gavin McGarrigle, flanked by his bargaining team, speaks to reporters before bargaining with Coast Mountain Bus Company.
Coast Mountain Bus Company president Mike McDaniel said the company’s updated offer included, for the first time, guaranteed recovery time. Drivers would receive 40 minutes of recovery time per shift and be paid double time for every minute of the recovery time missed because of traffic congestion.
“However, despite the significant progress, we’re disappointed that talks have once again broken off,” McDaniel said. “Wages are now our key sticking point.”
Coast Mountain has offered a 12.2-per-cent pay increase for skilled trades over four years, and a 9.6-per-cent pay increase for transit operators over the same period.
Under the current contract, conventional bus drivers start at $22.83 an hour during a 30-day training period, then go from $24.46 an hour to $32.61 an hour after 24 months of employment. Benefits include medical, vision and dental, a pension plan and family bus passes.
Unifor had sought an increase of 15.2 per cent over four years for bus drivers and 16.7 per cent over four years for maintenance workers. McGarrigle said the union had been willing to make concessions in some areas, but did not specify.
Bus and SeaBus workers are not the only transit employees in Metro Vancouver who are bargaining for a new contract.
On Tuesday, negotiations between SkyTrain workers who operate and maintain the Expo and Millennium lines and their employer, B.C. Rapid Transit Company, broke off.
The union is planning to meet with its membership — 900 SkyTrain attendants, control operators, administration, maintenance and technical staff — this week and next week to determine next steps.
The contract for SkyTrain workers expired on Aug. 31, and the two sides have been in bargaining since the beginning of May.
Canada Line workers are not involved in this round of bargaining. West Coast Express is also unaffected.
— with files from Nick Eagland
CLICK HERE to report a typo.
Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com.