“BCRTC remains committed to getting a deal done. “It is completely unacceptable the union has chosen to use the 150,000 people who use the Expo and Millennium Lines each weekday as leverage,” reads Ladrak's statement. In a statement, BCRTC President Michel Ladrak said BCRTC was “extremely disappointed” with the union's announcement and hoped continued negotiations would see the parties come to an agreement. “We understand that this is a massive action that will cause a great deal of inconvenience to our passengers, which is why we hope we can still reach an agreement before Tuesday morning,” said Rebelo. In a media release, CUPE 7000 President Tony Rebelo said he’s hopeful the parties can come to a deal before Tuesday morning’s planned job action to avoid service disruptions. This announcement comes after the union issued a 72-hour strike notice on December 6, after negotiations failed to make progress on key issues.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 700, which represents approximately 900 SkyTrain workers in Metro Vancouver, had been engaged in collective bargaining with their employer, BC Rapid Transit Company (BCRTC), for almost 50 days. The strike will include a full system shutdown of the SkyTrain beginning at 5 a.m. SkyTrain workers have decided to begin full strike action on December 10 after negotiations between their union and employer failed to reach an agreement this morning.
