Joint union/ministry talks continue for Ministry of Forests

The union is consulted on the placement process for members being affected by workforce adjustment. This work is done at the joint union-ministry committees (known as Article 29 committees, as outlined in Article 29 of the Collective Agreement). The Ministry of Forests and Range committee is meeting weekly.

Discussions on placement activity for members from the Integrated Lands Management Bureau (ILMB) now occur at the same Article 29 meeting as the Forests and Range committee. If you are an impacted ILMB member with questions about the placement process, please contact the union chair of the committee, Dean Draper (dean.draper@gov.bc.ca).

The committee continued to discuss whether the ministry would broaden access to full seniority lists. Members have been requesting broader access given that there have been three rounds of redundancy notices in the ministry since last September, and the minister has promised an additional round by summer. Some progress was made in discussions this week. More details will be forthcoming.

Any impacted member who is interested in whether a severance option is possible should contact Dean Draper at the above e-mail address.