Transit workers reject offer, return to picket lines
Posted Feb 24, 2012 01:05:01 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Metro Transit strike will continue. Striking union members voted Friday to reject the latest “final” contract offer from the city.
Local ATU president Ken Wilson says 650 members voted, with 78% rejecting the proposal.
Wilson says the city took a lot of concessions off the table, but the contentious issue of schedule rostering remained. Still, Wilson says he’s willing to use document as a starting point to continue negotiations.
“I left a message for the conciliator,” said Wilson. “I told him the numbers and if the employer wants to go back to the table and negotiate properly instead of council bypassing us and going to the membership, we’re more than welcome to go back to the negotiating table.”
“We gave the union a good offer worth $14 million within a deal that will also save HRM $8 million over five years,” said Mayor Peter Kelly. “We cannot afford to take more from the wallets of taxpayers, and that’s what is going to happen if we let ATU keep its current scheduling system.”
On Thursday, Halifax Regional Council approved an offer that the city says included:
– A five-year collective agreement that includes rostering and wage restructuring (offsets), with provisions that will let the union participate in how rostering would be established
– A first-year $ 1,500 lump sum payment to all ATU employees
– Wage increases of 2.25% in each of the subsequent four years
“By voting no, ATU has decided to keep our buses parked and our ferries docked, and the public is being held ransom,” said Mayor Kelly. “Enough is enough. Transit workers need to accept our fair offer to get riders back onboard.”
