The transit strike continues with no end in sight.
Metro Transit and the Amalgamated Transit Union returned to the table Wednesday ‘ one week after over 700 transit operators walked off the job.
It was a marathon negotiating session, with the two sides remaining at the bargaining table until 7 a.m. on Thursday when talks broke off with no deal reached.
“Getting back to the table and making real progress towards a solution will only happen if ATU is sincerely willing to work with HRM to find ways to be more efficient,” said Metro Transit Director Eddie Robar in a release issued just after talks broke off. “Make no mistake: contrary to ATU’s claims, it is about the money.”
HRM says its latest offer included a salary increase of 7.5 per cent over three years while adding rostering, a non-starter for the union who says they will never accept a deal with that on the table.
“(Negotiations are) going lousy,” said an exasperated Ken Wilson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508, just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, a sign of how the two sides remained far apart.
“They put the rostering back on the table, and here we are, guys.”
Union representatives presented a counter-offer to Metro Transit just after 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The union’s submission built on one made by management last week, which did not include “rostering” ‘ a scheduling system that would remove transit operators’ ability to choose their shifts based on seniority ‘ and provided a 3.5 per cent raise over two years.
The union’s counter-offer proposed a nine per cent raise over three years ‘ which Wilson had previously described as an opening gambit to be negotiated down.
Wilson said the union moved on some “big things” since their last proposal on Jan. 30.
“We gave up the ability to work out of both (the Ragged Lake and Burnside) garages, two spare boards, which removes 35 people off the spare board by creating a vacation board,” Wilson told reporters on Wednesday. – with files from Philip Croucher
“These are big things for us that we’re moving on, huge things that (are) going to hurt some members, but it’s the right thing to do.”
