A labour disruption has pushed Greyhound to temporarily suspend passenger and parcel delivery service throughout Western Canada -- leaving passengers stranded at the start of the May long weekend.

With the exception of Vancouver Island, the service stoppage affects B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

"The current situation really is unfortunate, as much as we can, we really apologize for any inconvenience it creates for the customers," Greyhound Canada spokesperson Anna Folmnsbee told CTV Newsnet Friday morning. 

She said Greyhound does not expect any work stoppage in southern Ontario because employees there are represented by a separate union.

However, Greyhound vice-president Brad Shephard said in a press release Thursday night that service between Winnipeg and Toronto and Winnipeg and Ottawa will be affected.

Passengers can hang on to their tickets for future travel or receive a full refund.

A company proposal to the Amalgamated Transit Union was rejected earlier this week by the majority of its 1,200 members which include drivers, mechanics, ticket handlers, courier parcel staff and various support workers.

The union gave the company 72-hour strike notice on Monday, calling for better wages and working conditions.

"We think that we really made every effort to meet the needs of our employees, both represented (by the union) and those not represented," said Folmnsbee. 

She said Greyhound is willing to continue negotiations.

"The lines of communication are definitely open and again we're hopeful that we can resume business operations as quickly as possible."

With files from The Canadian Press