Fredericton bus drivers reject offer, prepare for transit strike

Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodsideis holding firm in his position that the city's wage package to transit drivers will not change and he is warning citizens to preparefor an "unfair" strike.

• Brad Woodside hopes for transit deal without job action

• Fredericton Transit workers will vote on city's final offer

Fredericton Transit workers could be off the job later this week after drivers voted 73 per cent in favour of rejecting the city's latest contract offer.

Woodsidesaid he doesn't see the need to return to the bargaining table becausethe city's offer, which matches similar deals taken by indoor and outdoor workers, is not going to change.

"It is a fair offer. I know it and they know it and they should have taken it," Woodside said on Information Morning Fredericton on Monday.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1783 voted down the city's contract offer on Sunday and that could lead to a strike as early as Tuesday night.

Ralph McBride, a CUPE national service representative, said the wheels for a strike are now in motion.

"We'll start now doing some strike preparation things to get ready for it. We'll be looking for, I guess, a strike headquarters and taking all those things in line," he said.

Despite thestrike mandate, McBride said he is hopeful a work stoppage will not be necessary.

"Hopefully we'll have a sit down again with the provincial mediator and the city and maybe come to a conclusion without having to exercise any of those rights," he said.

Woodside said the city has discussed the possibility of a lockout as a way to prevent rotating strikes or inconsistent service.

He said he hopes the contract dispute can be solved without a transit stoppage but he said the union's strike vote could be a sign that a disruption is unavoidable.

"That means in all [probability] there is not going to be transit for people that rely on it, that is very unfair and it is very unfortunate and it really shouldn't happen," he said.

RAW: Brad Woodside on transit contract

9 years ago

Duration 1:24

Watch Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside respond to questions from reporters about a potential transit strike

Wage dispute

The main dispute between 43 unionized driversand the city are wages as Fredericton Transit drivers are paid less in comparison to their counterparts in neighbouring Moncton and Saint John.

Fredericton drivers make $22 an hour, which is $2.44 an hour less than drivers for Codiac Transpo in Moncton and about $4 an hour less than drivers in Saint John.

Fredericton's final offer to the drivers is a 1.75 per cent increase in each of the first three years of a new contract and 2.5 per cent annual increases in each of the final two years of a five-year deal.

Fredericton's mayor said bus drivers should not hold out hope that they will get wage parity with CodiacTranspo drivers in this contract.

"This fellow who is doing the deal is talking about they want to get closer to Moncton, well move to Moncton, that is how you will get closer to Moncton," he said on Monday.