City buses in the Comox Valley and Campbell River could come to a halt Friday morning after the union representing transit workers issued 72-hour strike notice.
Unifor Local 114 said contract talks with Pacific Western Transportation — which is contracted by B.C. Transit to provide bus services — have failed and bus services will be completely withdrawn as of 4:30 a.m. Friday.
The contract between the union and company expired on March 31.
HandyDART will be available at essential-service levels, Unifor said in a statement.
Gavin Davies, national staff representative for Unifor, told CHEK News the sides could not come to an agreement on two main points: wages and the introduction of a step wage rate for new hires.
“[A step rate would mean] you would come in at a lower rate, and then after a period of time you would go to another rate, and then eventually the top rate,” Davies said. “You would have two people doing the exact same job making dollars an hour different.”
The two sides have had several rounds of negotiations and worked with a mediator.
Late last month, union members voted down a tentative agreement, which would have introduced a four per cent wage increase each year for the next three years, plus a three per cent increase as of the date of ratification.
