Murray Wood: Saskatchewan's auditor should go white elephant hunting
Murray Wood says the provincial auditor found the Global Transportation Hub could have helped Regina avoid giving Costco...
Transit workers in Regina have voted in favour of a strike mandate, saying the city’s budget plan threatens jobs and creates risks for workers, while wages have not kept up with the cost of living.
According to a statement from ATU Local 588, the union representing transit workers in the Queen City, 83 per cent of its members voted in favour of the strike mandate on Monday night.
Read more:
- What you need to know about the 2026-27 Regina city budget
- Half of Canadians support a new pipeline between Alberta and B.C.: poll
- Regina’s $6.8M subsidy to Costco could have been avoided, says auditor
“This strike mandate is a message to the City management. Job security matters. Safety matters. Fair wages matter,” ATU Local 588 president Sukwinder Gainda said in a statement.
“Our members keep this city moving, and they will not sit back while City Council pushes $45 million in cuts that slash service hours, eliminate routes, and undermine the people who rely on transit every day.”
According to the union, the city’s proposed budget would cut late transit service, “a move that would hit late-shift workers and also targets three routes that serve seniors and high school students.”
The union said its members have also raised issues about violence directed at transit workers, as well as wages that have “fallen behind the cost of living.”
John Di Nino, president of ATU Canada, said the strike mandate shows a workforce that has run out of options.
“Regina City Council needs to reverse these reckless cuts, invest in on-bus safety, and negotiate real wage progress,” Di Nino said in a statement.
“Our Local 588 members are standing up for fairness, for public safety, and for the future of Regina transit.”
The union said its 200,000 members across North America stand in solidarity with workers in Regina as they push for improvements.
In response, the city said in a statement, “Administration has confidence in the bargaining process and looks forward to reaching a fair and responsible collective agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local #588.”
Since the bargaining is in process, the city said it wouldn’t comment further on this topic.
