The City of Saskatoon and the union representing transit workers met Wednesday, one day after workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of job action.
“Our members have sent a strong message that what’s currently being offered to us does not meet their expectation and they are tired of being at the lowest end of the pay scale. . . . We just want a fair and equitable agreement,” said Jim Yakubowski of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615.
Workers voted 97 per cent in favour of strike action during meetings held Tuesday.
The union says there is no threat of immediate job action. The next round of bargaining with the city is scheduled for later this month and the union says it's optimistic of an agreement. The main stumbling block in negotiations is wages.
The city says it is committed to working with the union to reach a collective agreement with workers, who have been without a contract since the end of 2012.
“There is no indication of any work stoppage, whether it be a full-fledged strike, a rotating strike or some of these actions that you sometimes see from unions when it comes to engaging in some form of job action. We have none of that going on. We are firmly at the table trying to bargain a deal,” said Marno McInnes, the city’s director of human resources.
The union must provide a 48-hour notice before taking any job action.
The city says it has offered all nine of its civic unions and associations an identical proposal on wages and pension matters. Five of those units have already accepted that offer, while negotiations continue at the four remaining bargaining tables.
