ATU rejects MVT's comprehensive wages and benefits offer

Offer included Municipal Pension Plan

VANCOUVER , Dec. 23 /CNW/ - MVT Canadian Bus, the provider of HandyDART services in Metro Vancouver , announced today that local 1724 of the Amalgamated Transit Union has rejected the company's latest negotiated agreement which includes the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP).

"In order to resolve this dispute and resume full service to our passengers, MVT made a major concession on the municipal pension plan - the number one stumbling block in negotiations to date - and at the same time maintained wage increases," said John Siragusa , Vice President Operations . "We met the union's demand but sadly, this is no longer enough for the ATU."

"We know this labour dispute has been difficult on our customers, and MVT sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience," added Siragusa. "We want to resume full service for our customers and as is clear by the latest agreement, we worked hard to find middle ground to resolve this dispute. Unfortunately, the rejection of this agreement by the ATU has put us at an impasse. For now, MVT will make an application to the Labour Relations Board to increase essential service levels."

MVT's HandyDART service provides transportation to customers who are unable to use public transit without assistance, including many seniors, the seriously ill and persons with cognitive or physical disabilities. HandyDART is the only means of transportation for many of its customers.

For further information: Media Contact: Zdenka Buric, [phone] or [email protected]