More 'redundancies' announced in Ministry of Forests and Range

Today the Ministry of Forests and Range announced the fourth round of redundancy notices in the past nine months. This round sees the government making 38 BCGEU jobs redundant. About six non-BCGEU jobs are also being cut.

Jobs in 16 communities around the province will be impacted.

This adds to the 178 BCGEU jobs cut from the ministry since September in the three previous rounds.

"While this was not unexpected, we are disappointed the government has continued down this path," said Darryl Walker, BCGEU president. "The gutting of the ministry has left many questioning whether it can carry out its mandate of managing our forests."

Since coming to office, the Liberals have cut 1,100 ministry jobs, many in the compliance and enforcement offices, which oversees the forest companies and their work in the woods. The government says this is the final "workforce adjustment process to meet our three-year budget reduction targets."

"I have asked for a meeting with the minister so we can express our concerns directly to the government," said Walker. "It should also provide us with an opportunity to talk about how we can rebuild this ministry."

Members facing workforce adjustment are protected by Article 13 and Memo of Understanding # 1 of the Collective Agreement. These provisions establish the timelines and union oversight for the placement process, and they ensure seniority is a determining factor in placement priority. Every impacted member must receive at least one reasonable offer of employment in government.

The ministry has posted full seniority lists on the ministry intranet site. Members who feel that their seniority is reflected incorrectly can email the employer at HRReportingServices@gov.bc.ca.

Members should check the BCGEU web site regularly for updates.

• Click here to read an op-ed article by Darryl Walker on the crisis in B.C. forests.
• Click here to watch the BCGEU TV interview about forest service cuts.