Good news for people who rely on HandyDART to get around: a possible strike has been averted, at least for now.
More than 600 of the service’s operators had threatened to walk off the job on Monday if they failed to reach a new collective agreement by 6 p.m. on Sunday.
However the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724 said Friday it had received a new offer from employer Transdev Canada, and was suspending job action while it takes the proposal to its members.
The news is a welcome relief for thousands of seniors and people with disabilities, who rely on HandyDART’s door-to-door transit service to get to medical appointments or other outings.
“Monday you should expect business as usual. All job action has been suspended, we’re all doing overtime, uniforms back on,” union president Joe McCann told Global News.
“Our clients should be able to get to where they need to go.”
In a statement, Transdev Canada called the proposal an “improved and final offer” reached through “extensive negotiations.”
“With an offer being voted, we are pleased that the Union has confirmed that all job action will be suspended and that there will be no strike on Aug. 26,” the company said.
“We will work to restore Miscellaneous trip bookings as soon as possible.”
Members gave the union an overwhelming strike mandate in a vote in June and had been ratcheting up job action since July, which could have culminated with a full strike next week.
McCann said the union’s key issue was staffing shortages, which were having impacts on both riders and drivers.
The union has been in negotiations with Transdev since last November.