Metro Vancouver bus service resumes after 48-hour strike, as government appoints special mediator

Bus and SeaBus services in Metro Vancouver resumed Wednesday morning after the end of a 48-hour strike by transit workers that ground almost all routes in the region to a halt.

The union representing more than 180 employees of Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) — a mix of transit supervisors, engineers, and maintenance and communication staff — said the workers were back on the job as of 3 a.m. PT Wednesday.

CMBC, a subsidiary of regional transit authority TransLink, said regular bus and SeaBus service resumed by 5 a.m. PT, but there was no NightBus service prior. 

SkyTrain, West Coast Express and HandyDART will continue operating as normal, TransLink said.

While workers are back on the job this morning, there's no resolution in sight for the contract dispute behind the shutdown, which CMBC says affected 300,000 riders each day.

Talks between the company and the CUPE Local 4500 union broke down on Sunday.

On Wednesday, B.C. Minister of Labour Harry Bains appointed Vince Ready as a special mediator to assist in settling terms of a new collective agreement.

Ready had worked with the two sides over the weekend but couldn't get them to agree on terms before employees walked off the job early Monday.

Starting Thursday, he will work with the two parties for up to six days to secure a resolution. If one is not reached, he will issue non-binding recommendations on Feb. 2. Both sides will then have five days to either accept of reject them.

Bains said even though Ready could not help settle the dispute previously, the well known mediator is the right person for the job.

"Ready is a highly regarded mediator in the labour relations community, with a long and distinguished record of settling disputes," said Bains in a statement.

"With his appointment, the parties have all the tools they need to reach an agreement, and I thank them for agreeing to work with him to end this dispute."

Bains said halting bus service in Metro Vancouver is a "huge challenge for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on it."

CUPE Local 4500 said in a statement that it welcomed Ready's appointment, but if a deal on a new contract for about 180 supervisors wasn't reached by 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 3, they would withdraw services for three days.

Coast Mountain said in a statement that Ready's appointment was good news for bus riders. 

"We hope the union will not resume any job action while the special mediator is doing his work." 

Labour relations hearings

Meanwhile, the B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) has scheduled hearings Wednesday and Thursday, along with another on Monday involving CMBC and CUPE 4500.

The LRB told CBC News in an email that the first hearing, over two days, relates to replacement workers.

The one on Monday is expected to be about a complaint from CUPE 4500 that CMBC tried to reduce the impact of the strike. If upheld, CUPE Local 4500 members could be allowed to picket additional sites such as SkyTrain stations.

That would shut down the rapid-transit service, according to CUPE Local 7000, which represents SkyTrain workers.

The bus company says the union is demanding an unreasonable 25 per cent pay rise, while the union says CMBC tried to bully it in the negotiations.

No date has been set for the resumption of negotiations, but B.C.'s Labour Minister Harry Bains said Monday he was considering appointing a special mediator to resolve the impasse.

The strike halted CMBC services because bus drivers, who belong to a different union, refused to cross picket lines.