Fraser Valley bus drivers set to begin labour action as early as Thursday
Another labour dispute with public transit workers in BC is brewing, with Fraser Valley bus drivers set to commence labour action as early as 3 pm Thursday, February 2.
CUPE 561, the union that represents bus drivers operating BC Transit services within the Fraser Valley, served the employer with a 72-hour strike notice earlier this week.
According to the union, they have been engaging with BC Transit’s contracted company, First Transit, for a combined total period of about three weeks since talks began in Spring 2022.
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First Transit is an Ohio-based private company that operates public transit services in over 300 locations in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada, carrying over 300 million passengers annually.
The union asserts the employer has not satisfied their outstanding issues in wage and compensation fairness, as Fraser Valley bus drivers make 32% less than transit workers with TransLink and West Vancouver Blue Bus. Their members do not have a pension plan, and are required to accept long hours of standby time for which they receive less than $3 per hour.
“Our members are seeking a fair deal, one that pays them what other transit operators are currently being paid. It doesn’t make any sense that those in the Fraser Valley should be asked to do the same job for less than everyone else,” said Jane Gibbons, the president of CUPE 561, in a statement.
Starting mid-afternoon Thursday, the union will be in a legal strike position, at which point drivers will stop collecting fares. Labour action will escalate to two full days of zero bus service on February 27 and 28, with further escalation anticipated in the following weeks if a deal cannot be reached.
This will impact BC Transit services in Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and elsewhere in the Fraser Valley for both conventional bus services and HandyDART.
First Transit was also the subject of a labour dispute with BC Transit services in Kelowna in September 2022.
Also in September 2022, a strike of West Vancouver Blue Bus drivers and maintenance workers was averted.
In June 2022, BC Transit’s contractor for Sea to Sky Corridor buses — serving Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton — resumed services after a 136-day-long, full-scale strike, making it the longest public transit strike in the history of the province.
In February 2021, a strike of SkyTrain Canada Line workers, separately operated by SNC Lavalin’s ProTrans BC division, was also averted.
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