Toronto transit workers begin sudden strike

MONTREAL, April 26 (Reuters) - Transit workers in Toronto went on strike at midnight on Friday after rejecting a tentative contract deal, shutting down bus, streetcar and subway service in Canada's most populous city.

Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents 9,000 operating and maintenance workers, rejected the proposed three-year pact by a vote of 65 percent and began to walk off the job.

The Toronto Transit Commission said that because of the legal strike, there would be no service as of Saturday.

The TTC carries more than 1.5 million passengers every weekday. A strike will cause serious problems for many workers who rely on the service, which covers a wide metropolitan area where some 5 million people live.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour said its mediators were calling officials for the union and the transit commission back to the bargaining table at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Saturday.

Union officials said the strike was called immediately rather than allowing 48 hours' notice because they feared a public backlash against transit workers.

"We have assessed the situation and decided that we will not expose our members to the dangers of assaults from angry and irrational members of the public," Bob Kinnear, president of Local 113, said in a statement.

Kinnear said the union executive would meet on Saturday morning to decide its next step.

Union and transit commission officials had reached a tentative deal last Sunday, averting a strike that was to begin the next day. The TTC had offered 3 percent wage increases in each of the three years in the contract.

The TTC staged a one-day illegal walkout in May 2006, stranding commuters and costing the TTC about C$3 million ($3 million) in lost revenues.

The last legal walkout by TTC workers was in 1999 and lasted two days before the province legislated the union back to work. (Reporting by Robert Melnbardis; Editing by Peter Cooney)