Greater Victoria handyDART workers reached an agreement Wednesday with their employer, preventing a strike.
Union members reached a tentative agreement after their employer, Canada First, agreed to a 12 per cent wage increase over five years and a 33 per cent increase in RRSP contributions. First Canada works under contract to B.C. Transit.
Unionized drivers and staff voted last week to renew their strike mandate. Job action would have affected bus services for people with disabilities who rely on the handyDART service for transportation.
“We believe this is a win-win agreement for the drivers and staff, the employer and most of all for people with disabilities who depend on handyDART services to travel in the Greater Victoria region,” said Ben Williams, president of Unifor Local 333.
A ratification vote is set for Feb. 5, and the union is recommending workers accept the terms.
The 90 workers still do not have a company pension plan, but Williams said that’s something the union will continue to bargain for in the future.
The employees have been working without a contract since Oct. 31, 2012. If ratified, the new contract will expire in 2017.
