Close X
Monday, November 18, 2024
ADVT 
National

Strike threat looms in HandyDART dispute as union vote suspends job action

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Aug, 2024 11:01 AM
  • Strike threat looms in HandyDART dispute as union vote suspends job action

Potential disruption to British Columbia's HandyDART transit service this morning was averted after workers suspended job action to vote on a final contract offer, but strike action remains a possibility.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724 says it will give a 72-hour strike notice if the membership votes down the latest offer by Transdev Canada.

Local 1724 president Joe McCann called the suspension of all job action "a gesture of goodwill" after what the union described as "months of bargaining and escalating job actions" ranging from uniform refusals to an overtime ban.

McCann says the vote will happen soon after information meetings for members held Sunday and today.

The union said last week that members would begin a "full work stoppage" today unless a tentative deal was reached with France-based Transdev, the contracted operator of HandyDART.

The two sides have been negotiating since last November, and Transdev Canada says in a statement that the company had been working to rebook trips of the door-to-door HandyDART service that were jeopardized by the possible strike.

MORE National ARTICLES

Inadequate security led to federal breach that compromised Canadians' info: watchdog

Inadequate security led to federal breach that compromised Canadians' info: watchdog
The federal privacy watchdog says government departments lacked adequate protections to prevent a cyberbreach that compromised the sensitive information of tens of thousands of Canadians. In a report tabled today, privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne describes how the lapse at the Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada in summer 2020 allowed hackers to fraudulently collect payments.

Inadequate security led to federal breach that compromised Canadians' info: watchdog

Business council forecasts slower growth of 0.7 per cent in B.C. ahead of budget

Business council forecasts slower growth of 0.7 per cent in B.C. ahead of budget
A new report ahead of next week's B.C. budget is forecasting slower economic growth for the province this year. The Business Council of British Columbia says "lacklustre" growth globally, high interest rates and weak private-sector job and investment numbers all add up to "a drag on prosperity" in 2024.

Business council forecasts slower growth of 0.7 per cent in B.C. ahead of budget

Canada-led NATO mission gets boost

Canada-led NATO mission gets boost
The federal government is spending more than $273 million to acquire new military equipment for NATO's Canada-led battle group in Latvia. That includes $227.5 million for a short-range air defence system from Saab Canada Inc., intended to defend against fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and drones, and another $46 million for counter-drone equipment.

Canada-led NATO mission gets boost

Despite council support, VCH no longer considering contentious drug consumption site

Despite council support, VCH no longer considering contentious drug consumption site
Vancouver Coastal Health says it is no longer considering a stand-alone supervised consumption site in Richmond, British Columbia. The decision was announced late Wednesday in a statement from VCH, which said that, based on the latest Public Health data, such a facility would not be the most appropriate service for those at risk of overdose in the community.

Despite council support, VCH no longer considering contentious drug consumption site

Safety board calls for changes after fatal 2021 Nunavut helicopter crash

Safety board calls for changes after fatal 2021 Nunavut helicopter crash
The Transportation Safety Board is calling for improvements after an investigation into a deadly helicopter crash in Nunavut. The helicopter went down in 2021 on a trip to survey polar bear populations on Griffith Island, about 20 kilometres southwest of Resolute Bay, Nvt.  Two crew members and a wildlife biologist were killed. 

Safety board calls for changes after fatal 2021 Nunavut helicopter crash

B.C. wine grapes facing up to 99% production drop due to January cold snap

B.C. wine grapes facing up to 99% production drop due to January cold snap
A new report says British Columbia's wine industry is anticipating "catastrophic crop losses" of up to 99 per cent of typical grape production due to January's intense cold snap. A February report from Wine Growers British Columbia and consulting firm Cascadia Partners says preliminary industry estimates are calling for crops to produce only one-to-three per cent of typical yields for wine grapes, mostly coming from relatively mild Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island.  

B.C. wine grapes facing up to 99% production drop due to January cold snap