Next phase of transit job action to be announced Wednesday

The union representing striking Metro Vancouver transit workers is set to announce Wednesday the next phase of job action as dozens of Unifor members from the Coast Mountain Bus company prepare to receive strike training.

The union said in a statement the escalation was caused by "a failure by the employer to make new offers at the bargaining table."

Meanwhile, transit users in Metro Vancouver had a slightly smoother commute Tuesday with no SeaBus cancellations, as the labour dispute entered its 19th day.

TransLink was reporting delays on some bus routes early Tuesday, however, and advised transit users to look up their route at alerts.translink.ca.

"Ultimately, this job action is difficult to anticipate," TransLink spokesperson Ben Murphy told CBC News Monday.

"That's sort of how the union has designed this — that's why they've gone with this overtime ban."

On Monday the network experienced as much as a 10 per cent drop in service due to bus drivers refusing to work extra hours.

Unifor, which represents bus drivers, mechanics and SeaBus operators, says bus drivers will refuse overtime hours again on Wednesday and Friday.

Seeking wage increase

The union said CMBC remains unwilling to discuss wages, a key issue in the dispute, while the company insists its proposal is well above increases offered to other public-sector workers in the province.

Unifor has said they are seeking a wage increase that would bring their workers closer to those in other major regions, like Toronto.

"Currently, the difference is about $2.85 an hour, but Toronto is set to receive another two per cent each in the next two years. So it's about three dollars an hour," said Unifor western regional director Gavin McGarrigle.

TransLink spokesperson Jill Drews said it comes down to what the company can afford.

"Money doesn't come from nowhere, it doesn't grow on trees and we've presented an offer that the region can afford," she said.

"If we go beyond that, it could mean things like raising fares or raising taxes or cutting service that we'd hoped to roll out through expansion plans."

Unifor's overtime ban has so far forced the cancellations of dozens of SeaBus sailings and delayed or cancelled numerous bus routes over the past several week.