The transit strike in the Cowichan Valley shows no signs of ending soon, after unionized workers rejected the recommendations of a provincial mediator.
The strike began on February 8, and on June 4 Unifor and Transdev asked the labour minister to appoint a mediator.
Following a meeting with the two sides on June 12, the mediator made recommendations on June 30, which members of the union have now voted to reject.
In April, members of the two locals overwhelmingly voted to reject a contract offer from Transdev.
Forty-four transit operators, cleaners, and mechanics represented by local 114, and eight handyDART workers with Local 333 have been on strike for more than 21 weeks.
Unifor says the dispute centres on wage disparities between workers employed by Transdev and other BC transit employees, particularly in Victoria and Vancouver.
Transdev operates bus and handyDART services in the Cowichan Valley on behalf of BC Transit.
