Blue Bus drivers take job action today
Posted October 23, 2016 8:41 pm.
Last Updated October 24, 2016 9:10 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WEST VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – People who rely on the Blue Bus system will have to find alternative means to get around.
The buses that operate between Downtown Vancouver and West Vancouver, including the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal, have stopped as unionized drivers and maintenance workers go on strike
Bill Tieleman speaks for the drivers and says mediated talks on Sunday were fruitless. “We are extremely disappointed and extremely frustrated with the District of West Vancouver. It’s the only municipality in BC that hasn’t been able to conclude a new collective agreement with its transit workers.”
In a statement, the District of West Vancouver says the transit union will be causing hardship for those who depend on Blue Bus, especially students and seniors. It says talks on Sunday were productive and believed a strike could have been averted.
But Tieleman says negotiators for the drivers couldn’t accept what was being offered. “The District is still demanding concessions on our benefits package. They are still not dealing with the important issue of retaining mechanics which have had a very high turn-over. We are just as frustrated as can be.”
Job action began last week, with drivers refusing to work overtime, which resulted in dozens of cancelled trips.
