Mayor calls on province to intervene in nearly 5-month-long Vancouver Island transit strike
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The mayor of North Cowichan, B.C., says it is time for the province to step up and help end a months-long transit strike in his region.
Transit operators with Cowichan Valley Transit walked off the job at the beginning of February in a push for higher wages, as well as washroom breaks and places to take them.
The action has halted all regular bus services and limited HandyDART rides to people with renal dialysis, cancer treatment or multiple sclerosis appointments.
Now, close to five months in, Mayor Rob Douglas says residents are getting frustrated.
"People are really starting to feel the pain."
Cowichan Valley Transit serves North Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan and smaller and more rural communities in the Cowichan Valley — an area about 45 kilometres north of Victoria, along Vancouver Island's east coast.
It's run by Transdev, a private French company that is contracted by B.C. Transit to operate 10 public transit systems in B.C.
Negotiators for Transdev and Unifor locals 114 and 333 reached a deal back in April, but it was overwhelmingly rejected by union members.
Employees say they want to shrink the pay gap between transit workers in the Cowichan Valley and those in Victoria — which the union says is a difference of $6.72 an hour.
Transdev previously told CBC News that its goal in the negotiations is "finding a resolution that supports our employees while maintaining the long-term sustainability of transit services in the Cowichan Valley."
Douglas said the strike is taking a toll on his community. He said he and some of his regional colleagues want the province to intervene, echoing calls made earlier by the union.
That could mean forcing the parties to go to arbitration.
Even though the transit system is funded publicly, the fact that it's operated privately means the labour dispute is between the employer (Transdev) and the employees.
That means both B.C. Transit and the provincial government have been reluctant to step in.
B.C. Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside said she understands the strike has made life difficult for people in the Cowichan Valley.
She said the Labour Relations Board is providing mediation services to the union and employer, and that she has urged the parties to make use of that support to find a resolution.
She's expecting a progress report from the mediator in the coming days.
"So we're looking at what other possibilities there are under the [labour] code to assist the parties, once I've heard back from the mediator," Whiteside told CBC News.
She would not say specifically whether she would order binding arbitration.
A spokesperson for B.C. Transit said in a statement that the agency "understand[s] the frustration felt by customers, and that the job action is difficult for everyone involved in the region."
"Our organization strongly believes in the collective bargaining process and hopes the two sides will reach an agreement soon," the spokesperson said.
Douglas said he believes in collective bargaining, too, but that the strike has gone on too long.
"It's time for the province to take on a bigger role in helping resolve this," he said.
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