METRO VANCOUVER – Thousands of Vancouver transit riders with special needs will find themselves homebound today as HandyDart bus drivers go on strike.
Only passengers needing renal dialysis and cancer-related treatments will receive service, as required under an essential services order issued by the B.C. Labour Relations Board last week.
That will bring the number of trips down to 12 per cent of regular service levels across the Lower Mainland, said Zdenka Buric, spokeswoman for MVT Canadian Bus Service, the company contracted by TransLink to run the transit service.
HandyDart provides about 5,000 daily trips to its clients.
HandyDart bus service is normally available to those with mobility impairments, seniors, the seriously ill and people with cognitive or physical disabilities.
"We will continue the essential services trips," said Bob Hykaway, international vice-president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents about 450 drivers and about 50 office and maintenance staff members in the striking ATU Local 1724.
The union was in a legal position to strike Sunday at 1:15 p.m. Hykaway said the workers would not walk off the job until this morning.
The dispute between MVT Canadian Bus Service, an American company contracted by TransLink, and ATU’s Local 1724 grew to a head after the union issued 72-hour strike notice Thursday.
A long strike won’t be easy for east Vancouver resident Betty Beechings, 86, and her husband John, 87.
John Beechings suffers from severe arthritis and heart disease, and Betty deals with daily chronic pain. They rely on HandyDart service every day for outings at the supermarket and visits to Trout Lake Community Centre.
"We’ll have to stay at home quite a bit now," said Betty Beechings.
"At our age, we’re slowed down, but young and handicapped people who are in much worse condition than we are, the HandyDart is their lifeline."
Buric said one of the key issues to be resolved deals with the pension plan.
The employer offered to match seven per cent of workers’ RRSP pension plan contributions. The ATU demanded a full municipal pension plan.
Hykaway said benefits remain the biggest issue in the dispute.
Before MVT took over HandyDart operations in January 2009, workers were represented by seven different unions and 60 to 75 per cent of the workers were on the municipal pension plan, he said.
He said the company wants to cap benefits, and won’t agree to guarantee workers 7.5 hours of work a day.
"Our main goal with our people is to keep what we had. We’ve lowered our demands to reasonable benefits."
Buric said the company hopes to return to the negotiating table by Tuesday.
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