Background

Unionized transit operators and skilled trades in the Comox Valley have been negotiating a new contract for six months. Without a fair offer from management, we had little choice but to take job action.

What’s at Stake

We’re proud to serve the communities of the Comox Valley but enough is enough. Service levels rely on proper staffing, but at current wage rates, the employer cannot attract enough staff. 

Excessive overtime is currently the employer’s solution to staffing shortages, but it is unsustainable for us and our families. 

Matters are made worse with the employer’s proposal for a two-tier wage structure that pays newly hired workers less for many years. Equal pay for equal work is the union’s goal.

Ultimately the employer’s budget is determined by funding from the BC government. Underfunding transit in smaller communities like ours has led to strikes in Whistler, Squamish, and Abbotsford over the last two year, and a strike was narrowly avoided in Vernon and the Shuswap earlier this year. 

What is the Solution?

We’re demanding the employer to close the gap with transit workers in comparable regions and reduce the gap or eliminate the two-tier wage structure altogether.

It is also time for the Government of British Columbia to modernize the funding formula for communities outside of Metro Vancouver and Victoria. 

Thank You For Your Support

We appreciate transit riders. We see them every day and they're the best part of working for the BC Transit. 

Read a letter from the North Island Students' Union about our fight for fairness.

 

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