Workers at Metro Vancouver’s HandyDART accessible transit service have ratified a contract with their employer, ending a 20-day strike.
Drivers, dispatchers, mechanics and schedulers represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724 had walked off the job on Sept. 3, leaving the service at around 18 per cent of normal levels.
HandyDART is a door-to-door shared transit service for people with permanent or temporary disabilities.
The union said its 600 workers decided to strike their employer, Transdev, over wages that weren’t competitive with other transit drivers, as well as staffing shortages, high worker turnover and the contracting out of services to taxis.
After 20 days on strike, the union announced a tentative deal on Sept. 20, which workers have now ratified.
“We are thankful for the outpouring of support from our riders, fellow union members, and elected officials, many of whom walked our picket lines,” said Joe McCann, the president of ATU Local 1724, in a statement.
“After months of negotiations, this contract recognizes our members for the heroes they truly are.”
HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver rallied outside Pacific Central Station on Tuesday. As Isaac Phan Nay reports, it’s a start to job action that includes cutting service down to only essential rides.
The statement says that the new contract includes a significant wage increase and that the union was able to push back on the contracting out of services to taxis by using “creative language on shift scheduling and reporting.”
CBC News has contacted Transdev for comment.