Saskatoon Transit union vows no job action while talks going on

Union rejected city's final offer, both sides planning to return to table

Image | Mass transit buses transportation commuters Saskatoon passengers bus stop empty

Caption: Saskatoon Transit workers recently rejected the City of Saskatoon's final offer in a long-standing labour dispute. (Chanss Lagaden/CBC)

Union president Jim Yakubowski says he's still interested in sitting down at the table with the City of Saskatoon.
This weekend, Saskatoon Transit workers voted against accepting the city's latest offer by 92.4 per cent. The deal would give workers a 10 per cent wage increase, but would not budge on changes to the employee's pension plan, something the union has fought stridently against.
Yakubowski said there are no plans for job action — which could include anything from a strike to an overtime ban — at least for now.
"That will largely be determined on what, if any progress, is made at the next round of discussions," Yakubowski, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615 told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.
Both the union and city negotiators have said they are willing to return to the table and continue discussions. However, both sides remain very divided on proposed changes to the workers' pension plan.
"What we're asking for, simply, is leave our pension plan the way it was before, which was a defined benefit plan," said Yakubowski. "We can agree to all the changes that they've imposed on our members and that the other unions have agreed to, with the exception of allowing the city to cap their rates, and a dispute resolution mechanism."
Transit workers have been without a collective agreement since 2012.
It's not clear when both sides will return to the table.