Transit providers push for essential service declaration as strike poised to escalate
BC Rapid Transit Company (BCRTC) applied on Wednesday for an essential services designation before the BC Labour Relations Board in an effort to keep buses, trains, and SeaBuses moving as a dispute between CUPE 4500 and its employer continues.
BCRTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TransLink and says that it is a necessary move because should CUPE 4500 ally declaration be successful, it will lead to a complete shutdown of the entire network.
“We are applying in conjunction with West Coast Express Ltd. (‘WCE’), South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (‘Translink’), ProTrans BC Ltd. (‘ProTrans’) and Coast Mountain Bus Company (‘CMBC’). We submit that all of these applications should be considered together by the Board. Such consideration is consistent with the purposes of the Code and furthers the public interest,” the application reads in part.
“Every weekday, on average, the SkyTrain provides approximately 211,000 rides to passengers,” it argued.
If the board designates an essential status to transit, it would mean that the union would not be allowed to impact services due to a strike.
To reach that status, it has to constitute something that poses a “threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of British Columbia.”
“A designation made under this section may be amended, varied or revokes and another made in its place, and despite section 135 the board may, in its discretion, on application or on its own motion, decline to file its order in a Supreme Court Registry.”
It comes as escalation efforts are underway from the union, as it’s also set to ask the board to allow its 180 transit supervisors to expand their picket lines to other facilities, including SkyTrain Stations.
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It has also threatened that if no collective agreement is reached by its deadline, members will strike again on Saturday at 12:01 am, thus triggering a three-day shutdown of the buses and SeaBuses and potentially the Expo and Millennium services. That’s because the unions for those workers could also be a part of the strike because they won’t cross picket lines.
“To be clear, CUPE 4500’s ally declaration encompasses all of the public transit options in Metro Vancouver, save HandyDART,” the application reads in part.
Suggesting that while some might be able to use alternatives like taxis or rideshare, that’s only an option for “most well-off public transit users.”
Adding, ‘This impact will be significant.”
This is a developing story.