NEWS & UPDATES
May 11, 2020
Fair Wages COVID-19 Update, Sectoral Component 3 - BCGEU
On April 24th we updated you about the efforts we have been making with respect to ensuring that you are safe while you are at work and also ensuring that you are fairly compensated for the important work you do each and every day in the community social services (CSS) sector. We know that you provide care and support to some of the most vulnerable members of society in British Columbia and the...
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
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
Community Social Services workers delivering essential services every day - B...
Send us a photo of you at work! To tell the story of the important work that all of you continue to do, we have been running a very successful campaign on social media with BCGEU members sharing photos of themselves at work. We'd love to hear from you in Community Social Services!Please participate in our social media campaign by providing a photograph of yourself at work performing your essent...
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
Fair pay and safe working conditions – COVID-19 update, Component 3 - BCGEU
Fair pay and safe working conditions for Community Social Service workers Every day, workers like you in the community social services (CSS) sector face challenges in providing critical supports and services to some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Now, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers have additional concerns and challenges about their own safety and that of the clie...
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 22, 2020
Message to BCGEU members for administrative services week - BCGEU
In our component, we are home to many kinds of workers that do a variety of roles that all fit together. This week please join me in taking a moment to appreciate the administrative services workers in our workplaces and the contributions they make to ensure that everything runs smoothly.We never could have imagined celebrating administrative services day in this fashion. But, here we are. Norm...
April 20, 2020
Letter to Provincial Health Officer from Community Social Services workers- C...
I hope that you are staying safe and healthy in this difficult time. We know that you are doing the very best that you can under extremely difficult circumstances. We also know the commitment, professionalism and the care that you bring to your work in community social services and the services that you provide to your clients in workplaces and in their homes across the province. We have heard ...
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...
April 14, 2020
Community Builders Group Right to a Representation - BCGEU
As per Article 11.6 Right To Have A Union Representative Present, you have the right to a steward for any meeting with a Supervisor or Manager that "might be the basis of disciplinary action". You have the right to know in advance "the purpose of the interview". This includes an investigation that could result in discipline. You have a right to select your steward as long as it does not result ...