BC Transit and Unifor 333 ratify new agreement
By Contributor
The buses will be running in Victoria for at least the news five years.
That’s after Unifor Local 333 and BC Transit ratified an agreement negotiated under the Economic Stability Mandate.
The five-year agreement, effective April 1, 2014, to March 31, 2019, covers approximately 700 drivers and maintenance staff working at BC Transit in the Victoria Regional Transit System.
“I am pleased to hear that BC Transit and Unifor Local 333 have ratified their agreement without any disruption to the transit service that tens of thousands of residents of the Capital Region rely on,” said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone.
“I would like to thank the negotiators on both sides of the table for their hard work in making this agreement happen.”
The members voted 89 percent in favour of the deal the Unifor 333 website said.
“We would like to thank all the members for their incredible support, determination, solidarity and patience while we continued to push hard for a fair deal,” a statement on the Unifor website said.
The agreement provides a 5.5% wage increase over the five years of the term with potential for additional increases if the B.C. economy exceeds the annual forecasts set by the Economic Forecast Council during the last four years of the agreements.
Approximately 250,000 public-sector employees are covered by ratified and tentative agreements negotiated under the Economic Stability Mandate.
“We are continuing to make steady progress as more agreements are reached and ratified in multiple sectors,” said Minister of Finance Michael de Jong.
“About 80 per cent of all unionized public sector employees are now covered by ratified or tentative agreements negotiated under the Economic Stability Mandate.”
