Close X
Friday, November 15, 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

Federal banking regulator OSFI keeps domestic stability buffer on hold at 3.5%

Federal banking regulator OSFI keeps domestic stability buffer on hold at 3.5%
The federal banking regulator is keeping its domestic stability buffer on hold as it says financial system vulnerabilities remain elevated but stable, while near-term risks continue to be low despite some recent increase. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions says its domestic stability buffer will remain at 3.5 per cent of total risk-weighted assets.

Federal banking regulator OSFI keeps domestic stability buffer on hold at 3.5%

Sikh activists mark anniversary of B.C. temple leader Nijjar's murder

Sikh activists mark anniversary of B.C. temple leader Nijjar's murder
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York-based activist who himself was targeted by India according to U.S. authorities, says Nijjar's murder a year ago was "not the kind of publicity" the Sikh independence movement was seeking.

Sikh activists mark anniversary of B.C. temple leader Nijjar's murder

Fire engulfs homes outside of Merritt

Fire engulfs homes outside of Merritt
An investigation is underway following a fire that engulfed abandoned homes outside Merritt overnight. The fire destroyed one building and severely damaged another that belonged to the former Merritt Mountain Music Festival.

Fire engulfs homes outside of Merritt

Body found in Surrey home

Body found in Surrey home
Police say a man has been arrested and homicide investigators have been called in after a death in a Surrey neighbourhood last night. R-C-M-P say officers responded to a report of a woman with life-threatening injuries inside a home on 182A Street near Parsons Drive.

Body found in Surrey home

2 arrested in Vancouver homicide

2 arrested in Vancouver homicide
Police in Vancouver say two suspects have been arrested and released pending further investigation into a homicide in the Downtown Eastside last week.  They say officers had responded to reports of a man in medical distress in the Chinatown neighbourhood last Wednesday afternoon. 

2 arrested in Vancouver homicide

Cool air mass over southern B.C. brings in record-breaking low temperatures

Cool air mass over southern B.C. brings in record-breaking low temperatures
Environment Canada says an unseasonable cool air mass over southern B.C. has broken minimum temperature records, including one dating back about 70 years.  The forecaster says temperatures fell to 4 degrees in the Trail area on Sunday, breaking the record of 4.4 degrees set in 1954.

Cool air mass over southern B.C. brings in record-breaking low temperatures