HandyDART strike ends with binding arbitration
Last Updated: Thursday, December 31, 2009 | 10:28 AM PT
CBC News
Related
Five hundred striking Metro Vancouver HandyDART workers will start returning to work on Monday after more than two months of picketing.
Tim Johnston, vice-president of the Amalgamated Transit Union's Local 1724, said the union began taking down its picket lines on Thursday morning after the union and employer MVT Canadian Bus agreed to binding arbitration.
"We were in mediation yesterday [Wednesday] with Vince Ready. We came to the resolution that … we were open to binding arbitration, and the company agreed, and so the matter is in Vince Ready's hands right now," said Johnston.
Ready, a veteran mediator in B.C. labour disputes, will accept submissions from both parties starting on Monday. HandyDART service will resume at the same time, with full service and a final deal expected the following week.
Key issues in the negotiations included pension benefits and the treatment of casual employees. Union members had already rejected at least two contract offers.
The HandyDART service provides door-to-door public transit around B.C. for people with mobility problems, but the dispute applies only to union workers in the Metro Vancouver area.
During the strike, HandyDART has only been offering essential services for patients needing renal dialysis and cancer treatments.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Tires slashed on more than 100 cars in Surrey
- At least 100 cars have had their tires slashed in a widespread vandalism spree in Surrey Tuesday, police say. more »
- B.C. Mountie drank to 'calm nerves' after fatal crash
- An off-duty RCMP officer involved in a deadly collision told an investigating police officer he'd consumed two shots of vodka after the crash to "calm his nerves," a B.C. court has heard. more »
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Four former B.C. attorneys general are joining a coalition of health and justice experts calling for the legalization of marijuana. more »
- B.C. seniors' care action plan announced
- The B.C. government unveiled a seniors' action plan in Victoria Tuesday afternoon, in response to a sweeping review by Ombudsperson Kim Carter. more »
Top News Headlines
- Air Canada confident it can reach deal with pilots
- Travellers flying Air Canada can keep booking their flights as negotiations continue with a new federally appointed mediator to help resolve an ongoing contract dispute between the airline and its pilots. more »
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Four former B.C. attorneys general are joining a coalition of health and justice experts calling for the legalization of marijuana. more »
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- Pop star Whitney Houston's funeral service will be held Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child. more »
- CN blamed for fatal train derailment in Illinois
- CN is being blamed for a 2009 train derailment in Illinois, in which several cars went off the tracks and caught fire, killing one person and injuring seven others. more »
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Stanley Cup rioter seen in brick attack on cop
- Crown seeks up to 18 months for Stanley Cup rioter
- Sperm donor anonymity case opens in B.C. Appeal Court
- Enbridge offered First Nations cash to study pipeline
- HIV-positive B.C. man jailed for assault, child porn
- Charges laid in $150,000 fraud of Vancouver Firefighters Band
- B.C. Mountie drank to 'calm nerves' after fatal crash
- Osoyoos Times apologizes for 'slanderous' RCMP article
