Provincial sheriffs at courthouses around the province rallied at lunch hour today to draw attention to the fact they are the lowest paid peace officers in B.C.

Sheriffs rallied in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Port Coquitlam, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Richmond, Vancouver, Victoria, and Williams Lake.

"The low pay is causing major recruitment and retention issues and public safety at court houses and other facilities is compromised as a result of experienced staff being successfully recruited by other agencies," said George Heyman, BCGEU president. "We have raised this issue with the attorney general and he has yet to move on this."

"Our collective agreement is clear-we can work with the government under an existing provision to negotiate special pay adjustments to solve staffing shortages and deal with significant recruitment and retention issues," said Heyman.

The April 7 BCGEU study compared 11 other enforcement agencies. The study found that other agencies pay up to 40 per cent more than what deputies receive. More information on the study is available here.

"Our members around the province have expressed their frustration with the provincial government's failure to take this issue seriously," said Heyman.

The union will be releasing more information in the coming days on the wage gap facing B.C. correctional officers.

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Media, please contact Brian Gardiner, BCGEU Communications

For a PDF version of this release, click here.