As Fraser Valley bus strike enters week 8, union calls for for employer to return to the table

Over the last month, Jhanavi Sharma an international student studying business at the University of Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C. spent over $750 on transportation, mostly taxis and Ubers.

Before, she used to ride B.C. Transit buses to school and work from her home in Abbotsford, an expense that was covered by fees she already paid toher university, leaving her with very few out-of-pocket transit costs.

But after transit drivers walked off the job March 20, half of Sharma's monthly paycheque is now going towardtransit alone.

"At the end of the month, you are left with nothing because [it] is very expensive," she told CBC News. "Taking into consideration the inflation happening, school, it's expensive and you gotta do what you gotta do, right?"

Sharma says she's had to cut back on any extracurricular activities, and has found herself in the "awkward" situation of having to ask her work colleagues to drive her home from work at Abbotsford's High Street mall.

"Most of my friends live in the middle of the city, which is nowhere near UFV or High Street and all of them work at High Street," she said. "They have to do Uber both ways."

Sharma is among thousands of people in the Fraser Valley who have been left with precious fewtransportation options as the transit strike in the region stretches on for more than a month.

Bus drivers on picket lines say they're happy to come back to work, but their employer hasn't hasn't provided a serious enough offer during negotiations.

Sharma and the union have bothcalled on the government to intervene to end the ongoing job action.

Workers under the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 561 umbrella are on the picket lines, leaving buses in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Agassiz, Harrison and Hope without drivers.

Currently, only essential HandyDart services are operating in the region.

B.C. Transit, a Crown corporation, contracts out public transit services to private company First Transit in the valley east of Vancouver.

"We are ready to bargain," said Elizabeth Roux, who has been a driver and trainer for 12 years, and is one of the strike organizers. "We are ready to sit down, but they need to be willing to sit down and talk to us, and at this point they're not."

WATCH | Elizabeth Roux speaks on the first day of the strike:

Fraser Valley transit worker says she wants to return to work

1 year ago

Duration 1:31

Strike action wasn't taken lightly, said Elizabeth Roux, who has been a transit operator and trainer for 12 years.

The union has called for a 32 per cent wage increase to bring them in line with what they say is being paid in other parts of Metro Vancouver, humane scheduling practices and an employer-subsidized pension plan.

Before going on strike, drivers stopped collecting fares for a month to bring their employer to the table without interrupting service, Roux told the CBC last month.

"The members are strong. The longer we're out here, the more motivated they are to get a deal to get back to work," Roux said.

While the strike has dragged out for over 47 days, the record for the longest transit strike in B.C. stands at 136 days.

WATCH |How much does it cost to commute aroundthe Fraser Valley amid the strike?

Fraser Valley bus strike costing some students over $100 a day in cab, ride-share fees

1 year ago

Duration 3:15

The transit strike gripping the eastern Fraser Valley is having a big impact on people, from university students to those with low incomes. The CBC's Yasmine Ghania spent the day in Abbotsford, calculating how much it would cost to get around the city without a car.

Employer says communication lines open

First Transit did not provide a spokesperson for an interview, but sent over a statement saying that communication lines with the union have remained open throughout the course of the strike.

"First Transit has an RRSP program and the company has offered to convert the RRSP and negotiate entrance into the CAAT pension plan," the statement read. "The company has presented an offer to CUPE Local 561 that would also see significant wage increases on par with trends across the province.

"This includes total wage increases of up to 16 per cent over five years."

The union said in a statement that the plan to convert the RRSP into a pension plan was "not serious" and the company would only do the conversion if it did not cost them anything.

Roux says that public support for the strikers has remained strong over the month-long walkout.

"They're more behind us as they hear how underpaid we are, no pension, and how messed up our hours are," she said.

Indeed, Sharma says that drivers were being paid "really low" and that they should be compensated appropriately.

But she added that transit users' frustration was adding up.

"In the beginning it was fine, but then as time is passing, everybody's like, 'When is it going to end?'"