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COMPONENT 14 - INDIGENOUS SECTOR

Component 14 includes members who work for employers that exist primarily to serve Indigenous populations.  

Employers include housing providers, schools, school boards and colleges, advocacy resources, children and family services, courtworkers, health services, and friendship centres. 

Read here for more about this component, its locals and members, and how it came to be.

NEWS & UPDATES

June 20, 2016

BCGEU celebrates the 20th National Aboriginal Day

On June 21, 1996 the federal government declared the first National Aboriginal Day. Since that time, the BCGEU has joined the celebrations and the calls for increased support and recognition of Aboriginal peoples across Canada. Over the course of those 20 years, Aboriginal peoples in Canada have fought for and won many advancements and reinforcements of their rights – sometimes through govern...

June 20, 2016

BCGEU demands freedom for Iranian trade unionists

In solidarity with the Free Them Now campaign to free jailed workers in Iran, the BCGEU sent two letters demanding the release of Jafar Azimzadeh and other jailed trade union leaders. Click here to read the general solidarity letter, and click here for the the more specific letter. 

June 13, 2016

Love must be greater than hate – Orlando shootings

The BCGEU expresses deep sorrow at the brutal hate crime which occurred in Orlando, Florida this past weekend and sends condolences to the families of the more than 100 innocent people who were killed and seriously injured at the Pulse nightclub on Sunday morning. Much of the news coverage has focused on allegations of extremist religious motives. But this was not an act of terrorism, although...

June 13, 2016

The Columbia Institute releases a climate change report

The Columbia Institute released a brand-new report today: Top Asks for Climate Action - Ramping Up Low Carbon Communities. You can find it and a summary here. Local governments have a crucial role to play in combating climate change. Their decisions directly or indirectly impact sixty percent of Canada’s energy consumption and more than fifty percent of GHG emissions. Top Asks pinpoints what l...

June 10, 2016

BCGEU writes Colombian and Canadian governments on repression

In early June, the BCGEU learned that Colombian state security forces used indiscriminate and excessive force against Colombian citizens engaged in peaceful protest. This led to deaths, serious injuries and arrests of citizens taking part in the “National Agrarian, Peasant, Ethnic and Grassroots Mobilization – for Good Living, A structural Agrarian Reform and Dignified Cities – Sowing Hope, Har...

June 01, 2016

Workplace first aid requirements

First aid is an important element of workplace health and safety. This includes having the correct equipment, procedures and trained people in place to respond in the event of a workplace injury. Here are the basic first aid requirements under the Workers Compensation Act:  (1) The employer must provide for each workplace such equipment, supplies, facilities, first aid attendants and services...

May 30, 2016

OHS Representatives in the province right to refuse unsafe work

Recent incidents at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam have highlighted the need for workers to be made aware of their rights and duties under the Worker’s Compensation Act in carrying out their work. On May 23, BCGEU members were injured while transporting a patient from the Royal Columbian Hospital back to the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital. A preliminary investigation has been conduc...

May 27, 2016

2016 BCGEU Scholarship Winners

Shaelyn Ann Loise Blatta, West Kelowna Flora Copley, Barriere Ruth Dyck, Williams Lake Haven Evans, Prince George Elisabeth Hill, Port Alberni Ramona Jones, White Rock Isaiah Joseph, Langford Pamela Lozano Fernandez, Chilliwack Kayla MacKay, Victoria Tessa Milic, Delta Sarah Osborne, Victoria Tenysha Ross-Van Mierlo, Castlegar Lindsay Russell, Port Moody Jaya Scott, Victoria Jorda...