The BC Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) has submitted multiple recommendations to a panel of special advisors currently reviewing British Columbia's Labour Relations Code. The submission calls for changes that properly reflect the needs and interests of workers in B.C.'s modern economy.

The BCGEU's submission is based on three themes:

1. That workers be entitled to make their own internal decision to unionize without employer pressure;

2. That workers be entitled to fairness, timeliness and finality when it comes to labour decisions; and

3. That the labour code be responsive to the erosion of workers' rights in the modern economy due to more precarious, part-time, contract and contingent employment.

"The labour code is a significant piece of legislation that informs both how B.C.'s workers organize to join unions, and how unionized workers and their employers interact," says BCGEU president Stephanie Smith. "This review is a good first step in the process of restoring fairness to both the labour code, and the BC Labour Relations Board."

The labour code review panel is holding public hearings in 10 B.C. communities from now through mid-April, and the panel will report its findings and recommendations back to Labour Minister Harry Bains by August. The labour code has not been reviewed or amended in 15 years.

To read BCGEU's submission click here.

UWU/MoveUP