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BCGEU says the Regional District is prolonging the strike, hurting whole community - BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 5, 2024

BCGEU says the Regional District is prolonging the strike, hurting whole community 

WILLIAMS LAKE - It's Day 18 of the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) strike, and the union representing picketing workers says the CRD's upper management is refusing to return to the table with a deal that's in-line with what workers or the community needs, which is putting vital services at risk of prolonged job action.

BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) members were forced to strike when the CRD shutdown bargaining by refusing to negotiate or move from their original, insufficient wage proposal – a proposal that failed to include the inflation-matching wages members desperately need.

Paul Finch, president-elect of the BCGEU, says:
"The CRD owes it to the entire Cariboo community to provide frontline workers with the wage protections they need to keep calling the area home. Wages that can keep up with the cost of living are key to attracting and retaining expertise needed to deliver strong services now and into the future."

Finch followed that up to say: "It's disappointing that upper management is so blatantly ignoring the impact that our members have on the prosperity of the entire Cariboo Region. By devaluing their staff, they're also devaluing the farmers, construction workers, library customers and everyone else whose own livelihoods and quality of life depend on our members and the vital work they do." 

Striking workers have been bargaining with the Cariboo Regional District since January. They formed their first picket line in Williams Lake on May 13, and expanded the strike into Quesnel and 100 Mile House shortly after.

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For more information, please contact BCGEU Communications Officer Celia Shea at 780-720-8122 or [email protected]



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