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Updated: Thu Mar. 27 2008 11:06:27 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

There was some good news and some bad news on Thursday for TTC riders worried about a potential strike.

CUPE Local 2, the union representing 500 signal, electrical and communication workers voted overwhelmingly at 94 per cent in favour of a strike mandate Thursday evening.

But in a bit of good news, talks between TTC management and the Amalgamated Transit Union appear to be back on -- and making progress -- after a Department of Labour mediator was called in.

The two sides -- along with the mediator -- were locked away in a Markham hotel for about 10 hours on Thursday.

Union President Bob Kinnear spoke to CTV Toronto by phone late Thursday and said the dialogue was constructive, but that there's a lot of work ahead for them.

He said, however, there weren't enough signs to safely rule out any job action, including work-to-rule.

Talks between the Amalgamated Transit Union and the TTC broke off earlier this week after Kinnear said management wasn't addressing workers compensation issues.

A mediator from the Ministry of Labour was called in to bring both sides back to the bargaining table before the April 1 deadline.

Kinnear said under the current contract, TTC workers who are injured on the job are financially penalized when they take time off to recover. TTC management, on the other hand, does get full pay under those circumstances.

He said until that issue is addressed, a new contract will not be ratified.

However, on Wednesday he said workers might consider work-to-rule action rather than a strike that would slow service rather than halt it. He also said if talks are progressing well then the union will also extend their deadline past April 1.

CUPE Local 2 also has an April 1 deadline.

"Ultimately, the system cannot operate without us," Mike Santos, president of CUPE Local 2 said.

In May 2006 TTC workers went on a one-day wildcat strike that paralyzed the city.

If the TTC were to go on strike, it would affect 1.5 million people who commute around Toronto by bus, streetcar and subway weekly.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Naomi Parness