HandyDART transit workers in Metro Vancouver begin strike

Transit workers that run Metro Vancouver's HandyDART services walked off the job on Tuesday morning.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724 said the work stoppage would begin at 5 a.m. PT after most of its membership rejected an offer last week by Transdev, the private contractor responsible for operating HandyDART.

HandyDART is a door-to-door shared transit service for people with permanent or temporary disabilities.

The union says it will cut services to about 18 per cent of normal levels during the work stoppage, only transporting people who need to be taken to appointments for dialysis, multiple sclerosis and cancer treatment.

Last week, Transdev told CBC News it would be unable to meet for further negotiations until Sept. 12, but did not give a reason why.

The union held a rally in Vancouver on Tuesday to mark the beginning of the strike. 

Local 1724 president Joe McCann told CBC News early Tuesday that picket lines will be starting Wednesday at the Vancouver Depot, the Cloverdale Depot and the Norland Depot.

On Monday, McCann told CBC News that the union does not want to inconvenience its passengers with a strike, but HandyDART workers were seeking parity with their counterparts in the TransLink and Central Fraser Valley Transit systems.

"We have a hard time understanding why drivers that take care of people with disabilities, or that can't use public transit, are treated differently than people that drive people in conventional transit," McCann said.

Transdev and the union have been negotiating since last November, with the collective agreement expiring in January.

Key issues include high worker turnover, contracting out of services, and use of taxis instead of HandyDART vehicles, according to McCann.

The union said it represents about 600 HandyDART workers, including drivers, dispatchers, mechanics and schedulers who work in the Metro Vancouver area.

'No strategy'

Transdev, a company based in France, did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News on Monday.

In a previous statement, the company said the final offer rejected by employees last week included a $1,500 retention bonus in 2025.

"Our priority remains to reach a fair contract that balances the needs of our employees, HandyDART clients and taxpayers," said Emily Watson, Transdev's senior vice-president for Western Canada.

McCann said his members did not feel that offer was fair.

The union president added that Metro Vancouver will see a growing, aging population that needs services like HandyDART, and said there was "no strategy" in allowing those services to be run by for-profit companies.

"It's really a vital service, and I don't know why it's privatized," he said.