B.C. appoints new mediator to solve 7-month-long Cowichan Valley transit strike

British Columbia·NewWell-known labour negotiator Vince Ready is stepping in to help resolve the seven-month-long strike at Cowichan Valley Transit on Vancouver Island. Bus and HandyDART drivers have been off the job since FebruaryCBC News · Posted: Sep 05, 2025 4:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoVeteran mediator Vince Ready, shown here in 2014, will try to resolve the nearly seven-month-long strike at Cowichan Valley Transit on Vancouver Island. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)Well-known labour negotiator Vince Ready is stepping in to help resolve the strike at Cowichan Valley Transit on Vancouver Island. Bus and HandyDART staff in the Cowichan Valley, located 45 kilometres north of Victoria, walked off the job on Feb. 8, demanding better wages and access to washrooms while on shift. So far, members of Unifor locals 114 and 333 have rejected a negotiated deal reached by their bargaining team with employer Transdev, as well as a proposal suggested by Dave Schuab, a mediator appointed by the province in June. Now, Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside has appointed Vince Ready to step in. “Mr. Ready has vast experience in labour relations and is renowned for his success in helping employers and unions reach agreements,” Whiteside said in a statement. LISTEN | Transit on Vancouver Island has gotten more chaotic: This is Vancouver IslandIsland transit has gotten more chaotic. Here’s whyBus service has long been a problem on the island, and it’s even more challenging now. We catch you up on the strike at Cowichan Valley Transit, and the cancellation of a bus route from Ucluelet and Tofino to Port Alberni. Plus, we try to find out if – or when – things might improve.”This appointment provides a path for the parties to work through their differences, and I appreciate their willingness to engage in this process.”Ready has a reputation for helping to solve some of the most intractable labour disputes in British Columbia, including the four-month-long Sea-to-Sky transit strike in 2022 — which Unifor has said was the longest transit strike in B.C. history until it was surpassed by the Cowichan Valley strike earlier this year. Whiteside said Ready will begin working with Unifor and Transdev immediately, and if a settlement is not reached within 10 days he will make recommendations to the minister and to both parties.