Transit strike continues as council vetoes arbitration

Halifax regional council rejected a call by striking transit workers for binding arbitration on Tuesday night.

There will not be binding arbitration because the province has offered up Ken Zwicker to step in as a conciliator.

After almost four hours behind closed doors, council voted to agree on the conciliator.

Mayor Peter Kelly told reporters late Tuesday night that agreeing to binding arbitration would put taxpayers at risk.

Kelly wouldn't say how many councillors voted in favour of a conciliator.

Metro Transit workers voted on Tuesday afternoon in favour of binding arbitration in their dispute with the Halifax Regional Municipality.

To deal with the latest transit development, council postponed a scheduled update on next year's budget for the HRM.

"To be honest, I don't know what this mayor or council will do anymore, they didn't want to negotiate, and that's the whole point of going to binding arbitration — two parties can't get along, let an arbitrator decide, we'll put it in the lawyers' hands," said Ken Wilson, president of Local 508 of the Amalgamated Transit Union.

Union members marched across the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge to Grand Parade after their vote on Tuesday.

More than 700 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union walked off the job Feb. 2, leaving roughly 55,000 commuters without bus or ferry service.

Talks broke off Feb. 9 and have not resumed.