NEWS & UPDATES
May 11, 2020
COLA Rate And Application For Highway Maintenance Workers - BCGEU
The Annual Highway Adjustment Calculations for 2020 have been finalized. These calculations are based on cost inflation for 2019. The Labour Index adjustment will generate a 2.26% COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) increase for 2020 in all highway maintenance areas with a COLA provision.In the last year of highway maintenance agreements there was no COLA increase given to the contractor or members...
May 07, 2020
The Provincial Spring 2020 - BCGEU
Check out the latest issue of The Provincial
This issue has updates on our union's Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Strengthen All of Us roundtable, our COVID-19 information hub, the fight against massive rent increases and our union's new Affordable BC podcast. UWU/MoveUP
May 07, 2020
Protrans BC Operations Layoff notices – COVID-19 update, May 7 - BCGEU
Layoff notices – COVID-19 update, May 7 As you know, your employer has determined that they will begin doing layoffs shortly. Please be assured that our union is working with your employer to negotiate the terms of these layoffs, and we will get the best deal possible in these very difficult circumstances. Though negotiations are ongoing, lay-off notices will likely be going out before a final...
May 07, 2020
Restarting B.C. -- your rights and union news - BCGEU
Restarting B.C. -- your rights and union news
Yesterday B.C. was full of cautious anticipation as Premier Horgan announced the steps we'll be taking to restart the province safely.Throughout the past two months, many BCGEU members have been on the front lines of the pandemic, limiting the spread of COVID-19. At the same time, countless others have been providing vital public services that keep ...
May 05, 2020
Sign our petition to end for-profit seniors’ care in B.C. - BCGEU
Right now, 79 per cent Canada's COVID-19 deaths are connected to long-term care facilities and make up the majority of deaths in B.C. Many seniors and elders have faced the end of their lives alone and their families have been left to pick up the pieces. We have known since the start of this pandemic that elderly people are most at risk, but we knew the senior's care sector was in crisis long b...
May 01, 2020
A May Day message from President Stephanie Smith - BCGEU
May 1st is International Workers Day. Historically, it is a commemoration of the Haymarket affair, a rally that took place in Chicago on May 4, 1886 in support of a general strike for an 8 hour workday that had happened in communities across the United States three days prior. At the time workdays of up to 16 hours were normal-as were six-day workweeks, child labour, and workplace deaths and in...
April 30, 2020
Pay reduction issue resolved – COVID-19 update, April 30 - BCGEU
Following communications in March from SNC-Lavalin asking you and our union to agree to a reduction in pay for Protrans workers, we would like to let you know the matter has been resolved.On Thursday March 26, 2020, members of the Bargaining Unit received a communication from the CEO of SNC-Lavalin asking employees to take a voluntary reduction in pay of between 10 and 20%. This was an outrageo...
April 30, 2020
16% of Loblaw Independent Shareholders Vote for Greater Human Rights Oversigh...
16% of Loblaw Independent Shareholders Vote for Greater Human Rights Oversight at Canada's Largest Food Retailer
Today, Loblaw's independent shareholders voted 16% in favour of a human rights shareholder proposal filed by B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU). The proposal asks Canada's largest food retailer to assign board-level responsibility for human rights.
Loblaw scores ...
April 29, 2020
Union Shareholder Proposal Highlights Human Rights Risk at Canada’s Largest F...
Media Advisory
For Immediate Release
Union Shareholder Proposal Highlights Human Rights Risk at Canada’s Largest Food Retailer
On April 30, 2020, BCGEU will present a human rights shareholder proposal at Loblaw's annual general meeting. According to international reports, Loblaw is a human rights laggard behind global peers.
WHO: B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU)
WHAT: Sha...
April 24, 2020
Protrans service reductions and employment – COVID-19 update, April 24 - BCGEU
This week your employer provided the union notice that because of COVID-19 related service reductions, Protrans intends to proceed with layoffs. Your union has made its position clear to the employer: they must at bare minimum provide 60 days' notice of layoffs under Section 54 of the Labour Code, and they must meet and attempt in good faith to negotiate an adjustment plan. While the employer ...
April 23, 2020
JOHS committees must continue meeting during COVID-19 pandemic - BCGEU
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOHS) Committees to meet and discuss COVID-19-related health and safety issues they are dealing with in their workplace.Your union has heard that some employers are telling JOHS committees to cancel or suspend their meetings until further notice. This violates the requirements of the Workers C...
April 17, 2020
BC union’s shareholder proposal questions Thomson Reuters on human rights rec...
Burnaby, Canada – The BC Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) – a major Canadian labour union with an innovative and aggressive capital stewardship strategy – has filed a shareholder proposal raising concerns about human rights impacts at the $8-billion software and media company Thomson Reuters (TSX/NYSE: TRI)."Like many unions, the BCGEU invests members' dues to grow our union," sa...
April 16, 2020
Acknowledging the frontline workers of two health care crises
April 15, 2020 marks the fourth anniversary of the declaration of the overdose crisis as a public health emergency in British Columbia.
In a statement recognizing the date this week, Judy Darcy, B.C.’s first Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, said “In this unprecedented time of two public health emergencies, we must work together to both flatten the curve and stop overdose deaths. We can...