Key takeaways:
- Vince Ready will work with the union and employer to fix Whistler, Pemberton, and Squamish bus service.
- B.C. Transit drivers in the Sea-to-Sky area have been on strike since Jan. 29, 2022.
B.C.’s labor minister has appointed a mediator to terminate a strike that has slowed most bus services in the Sea-to-Sky area for almost 17 weeks.
Vince Ready will serve as a unique mediator between Unifor, representing B.C. The region declared Tuesday that transit drivers in the area and employer P.W. Transit were hired to provide bus service.
“Ready is a highly considered mediator among the labor, business, and public-sector communities, and I am sure he will do everything to help end this labor dispute. The Whistler, Pemberton, and Squamish citizens have gone without their needed transit services for too long,” Labour Minister Harry Bains stated in a written statement.
Striking drivers are striving for salary equality with counterparts in Metro Vancouver. The job activity has kept B.C. Transit buses have been off the roads of Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton since Jan. 29, though HandyDarts continue to work.
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On Monday, Unifor revealed that drivers had voted to deny a tentative deal that would have terminated the strike.
Ready will work with the two sides for up to 10 days to negotiate a solution, and if no compensation is reached, he’ll make suggestions to end the standoff, according to the region. The parties will have five days to either accept or deny the recommendations.
Unifor’s western regional director Gavin McGarrigle stated the union welcomed Ready’s appointment.
“After two years of bargaining and failed sessions with a mediator, a more structured approach is required,” McGarrigle stated in a written statement. “We look ahead to submissions to the mediator regarding the high expense of living and wage differences.”
Source – cbc.ca
