It’s not yet a full-blown strike, but transit supervisors in Metro Vancouver have begun job action.
As of 8 a.m. Saturday, about 180 supervisors with TransLink subsidiary the Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) have initiated an overtime ban.
“The impact with an overtime ban that commuters will mostly expect are buses running late for service, running late going into service from our depots, and there could be possible service delays as no buses will be available,” CUPE Local 4500 president Chris Gindhu told Global News Morning BC.
In a statement, Coast Mountain Bus Company president Michael McDaniel said he did not expect the overtime ban to have “significant impacts to the delivery of transit services.”
Supervisors, who have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2022, issued 72-hour strike notice on Tuesday.
The union’s key demands are wage parity with supervisors under other branches of the TransLink umbrella, increased staffing levels and reduced workload.
“Their workload has increased significantly, but the staffing levels have not. Service for buses have increased significantly, but our staffing level again has not,” Ghindu said.
Gindhu said members are willing to return to the bargaining table, but that CMBC has not yet submitted a proposal to counter their last offer.
McDaniel, however, said it is the union that needs to come back to the table with “realistic expectations.”
“CMBC has made CUPE 4500 the same wage offer already agreed to by all other CMBC employees,” he said.
The bus company is urging commuters to sign up for transit alerts and follow its social media accounts for up-to-date information on transit service. It has also created a website for updates related to job action.
The union has not ruled out escalating their job action to a full strike.
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