Workers vote down offer in 5-month-long transit strike in B.C.'s Cowichan Valley
Workers represented by Unifor have been on strike since February in the valley of about 90,000 residents
The mayor of North Cowichan, B.C., is reiterating calls for the province to step in and end a five-month-long transit strike on Vancouver Island.
The strike, which began on Feb. 8 and is the longest transit contract dispute in the province's history, affects about 50 bus drivers, maintenance workers and cleaners in the region north of Victoria.
Cowichan Valley's transit system covers more than 45 kilometres, north to south, and the valley itself has around 90,000 residents.
Over the weekend, workers represented by Unifor locals 114 and 333 voted down a proposal put forward by a government-appointed mediator in a bid to resolve the 150-day-long dispute between them and private employer, Transdev.
Rob Douglas, the mayor of North Cowichan, is calling on the province to take a more active approach to end the strike, which he says is affecting the region's most vulnerable residents.
"In my view, it makes sense at this point to have the province play a bigger role in these negotiations and have them at the table to help us sort out some kind of resolution," he told Jason D'Souza, host of CBC's All Points West, on Monday.
Douglas said that residents in the region may have expected a strike to last several weeks, but none of them anticipated it would last five months and counting.
"As we spread out so much of our development over the years, it has been the sprawl model of development, which, you know, does create challenges in terms of our transit system," he said.
Gerald Watson, 77, is a Lake Cowichan resident who has to either spend hours walking or spend more than $80 on a taxi to get to Duncan. He estimates that he'd have to spend more than $285 to get to Victoria.
He said he supports the drivers' union, but wants the government to step in and resolve the strike.
He added that the government has done little to support transit services in rural areas since the closure of Greyhound bus services in 2021.
"This is a complete abdication, as far as I'm concerned, of government responsibility towards the public, and that's the way it is," he said.
A statement from Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside said it was regrettable that both parties in the labour dispute had not agreed on a deal.
"The best, most lasting agreements are negotiated at the bargaining table," she said.
"We are reviewing the situation to determine how the Ministry may best support this work, so that transit services can be restored as soon as possible."
Union votes down offer
Striking Unifor members are demanding higher wages, scheduled washroom breaks, and access to private washrooms. The contract between the union and the employer expired last March.
CBC News asked Unifor whether there were particular reasons the recommendations were rejected over the weekend, but the union did not directly respond.
"Unifor is dedicated in continuing to work with our members, the company and government on finding a solution to resolve the dispute," it said in an emailed statement.
Transdev, which is contracted by the provincial Crown corporation, B.C. Transit, to provide services in the region, said in a statement that it was disappointed by the union's decision to reject the mediated proposal.
"Transdev supported the mediators' recommended settlement, believing it was both generous and sustainable, recognizing the critical contribution of our teams while ensuring long-term service viability," read a statement from Emily Watson, the senior vice-president of Transdev in Western Canada.
The company said that the mediator's proposal included wage increases for both bus and handyDART drivers, as well as "improvements to available washroom facilities throughout the system."
With files from All Points West, Maryse Zeidler and Emily Fagan