The Master Bargaining Committee has spoken with the employer about the impact of job action on leave entitlements.

The BCGEU master bargaining committee continued to press the B.C. Government this week for protection for its roughly 500 members affected by the impending selloff of LDB warehouses in Vancouver and Kamloops.

Discussions aimed at concluding an Agreement in Principal (AIP) are ongoing. Both the union and the employer have agreed to an expedited resolution by next week.
 

The BCGEU Master Bargaining Committee continued to push the B.C. Government this week for more details about its plan to sell the LDB warehouses in Vancouver and Kamloops. The plan was announced in last week’s provincial budget.

The BCGEU has requested information about the business plan, the Request for Proposals, and details about how the privatization will affect LDB workers. So far, the government hasn’t provided us any information. We’ve not received a response to proposals we tabled last week to protect our members' rights in any transfer process. Our proposal for Sunday store openings, which we believe will generate additional $135-million in revenue for the province, has also been disregarded.

“We ended the week of bargaining with a clear message to the government,” said BCGEU President Darryl Walker. “We need answers and information, and we expect to receive it when we meet next week in Vancouver.”

One bright spot emerged in this week’s negotiations. We were able to reach agreement on improved anti-bullying language for public service members. 

“The new anti-bullying language is an improvement on what’s currently in place under our Memorandum of Understanding 13. We made this a focus this week to coincide with pink shirt day and because BCGEU members have told us bullying is a problem,” said Walker.

The BCGEU has been negotiating with the B.C. Government since early January. Dates have been set through to the end of March. The union is seeking a “fair and reasonable” agreement with the government.

Last month the B.C. government announced the closure of female youth offender units in Prince George and Victoria. More than two dozen BCGEU members, who hold permanent jobs in corrections, will be affected by the closures. Six jobs have been eliminated in Prince George and 17 in Victoria. Auxiliary staff members will also be affected.

Please be advised that the Union is holding an Election for the position of Local 104 Chairperson. The members running for that position are:

Federal crime bills will lead to massive increase in inmates and funding shortfall

The BCGEU welcomes news the province has established an independent review of the deeply troubled provincial justice system and is calling on the government to act quickly and invest additional resources.