The B.C. Government Employees' Union (BCGEU) is encouraging employers to waive the requirement for employees to produce a sick note to access sick leave.
The B.C. government announced last week employees no longer have to produce a sick note amidst concerns over the coronavirus.
B.C. employers must drop doctor's note requirements to limit COVID-19 spread, says BCGEU
Burnaby, B.C.- In light of the ongoing concern regarding the COVID-19 virus, the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union is calling on all B.C. employers to waive the requirement for employees to provide a note from a doctor to access their sick leave.
"We all must take appropriate steps to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, and B.C. workers need to do so without barriers or additional risk of infecting others," said Stephanie Smith, president of the BCGEU. "Our provincial government has made the responsible decision to waive their employees' need for doctor's notes for COVID-19-related illness, and our union urges all employers in B.C. follow suit."
"We all have a part to play in limiting the spread of COVID-19 and the message from public health experts is clear-one critically important thing we all need to do is stay home if we feel sick," said Smith. "Right now many employers require workers to produce a doctor's note to access their sick leave, which creates a needless administrative hurdle for workers, an additional strain on our health care system, and an increased risk of spreading the infection."
On Friday, the B.C. government notified public service employees they will not need a doctor's note to begin receiving sick pay for COVID-19 related absences.
"Our provincial government's response to COVID-19 has been exceptional," said Smith. "They have shown tremendous leadership by waiving the need for doctor's notes for their employees and our union is calling on all employers in B.C. follow suit. It's a seemingly small decision that would have an enormous impact as we navigate this public health crisis."
The BCGEU joins the broader labour movement in concern for the financial impacts that prolonged illness and quarantine periods will have on working families in our communities - particularly those with precarious employment. The union joins the BC Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress in their calls for enhanced sick leave protections and the elimination of the one-week Employment Insurance waiting period respectively. It is essential that all levels of government take swift, decisive and coordinated action to ensure that workers are not forced to risk exacerbating the spread of COVID-19 for fear of losing their paycheque or their job.
The BCGEU is one of the largest, most diverse and fastest growing unions in B.C. with more than 80,000 members working in almost every community and economic sector in the province.
For more information contact BCGEU communications at 604-291-9611 or communications@bcgeu.ca
UWU/MoveUP
March 8th is International Women's Day (IWD), a time to recognize the remarkable achievements by women across the globe and stand in solidarity with calls for decisive action to promote gender justice and end gender-based violence and discrimination. The global theme this year is #EachforEqual An EQUAL World is an ENABLED World.
"As an out and proud feminist who has the privilege to be surrounded by legions of like-minded activists, advocates and allies, I see every day as a fresh opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women and advance the fight for gender equality," said Stephanie Smith, BCGEU President. "International Women's Day is a reminder of the power of collective action to end harassment, discrimination, bullying, and gender-based violence in our workplaces, and our communities. Every day I see so much great work being done and so much progress being made. And every day I see heart-breaking examples of how much further we have to go to build the world we want."
In 1911, International Women's Day was honoured for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In New York City, the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire took the lives of 146 workers most of them women immigrants in their teens and twenties. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events.
"Unions have always had a unique perspective and a unique voice in the fight for gender justice," said Smith. "As union activists, our goals are simple but never easy. We can build an equal and enabled world only by fighting in solidarity for and with all women regardless of their race, physical or mental ability, socio-economic class, where they live, who they love or what sex they were assigned at birth. We must lift as we climb to get where we want to go."
The BCGEU's commitment to end gender-based violence includes being the only union in Canada to submit a report to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Our submission Naut'sa mawt sqwaluwun: Working together with one mind and one heart was based on the perspectives of our front-line workers.
Our union also lobbied provincial and federal decision-makers on a range of issues that would improve the lives of all women including investment for quality, affordable child care; equal pay for work of equal value; and, paid leave for survivors of sexual and domestic violence, which prompted the provincial government to introduce a bill to provide five days of paid leave for survivors and their families on March 3, 2020.
This International Women's Day we hope you will take time to connect with your families, your communities and your union locals and take action in support of gender equity in your community. Join one of the IWD events listed below or organize your own. Please contact your local labour council or women's organizations to locate events in your area.
Period Promise (March 9 – March 23)
BCGEU is proud to once again support the United Way’s campaign Period Promise to end period poverty. The BCGEU is a proud signatory to the United Way Period Promise campaign and we now have free menstrual products available in all of our area offices for our members and guests. But we want to do more! From March 9 to March 23rd, we’ll be part of a province-wide drive for menstrual products to help end period poverty. All BCGEU area offices and HQ will have donation boxes for you to bring your donations of menstrual products during the month of March
International Women's Day 2020 Events
Vancouver
March 6 - Capilano Student's Union Women's Day Political Panel 6 p.m. Reception, 6:30 p.m. Women in Politics Panel, CapU Lonsdale at The Shipyards, 125 Victory Ship Way #250, North Vancouver. Political panel discussing challenges, intricacies and opportunities of being a woman in B.C. politics, municipalities, and the legislature. Speakers: Libby Davies, Jane Thornthwaite, Bowinn Ma, Megan Curren.
March 8 - VDLC International Women's Day Dinner 5:15 p.m. – 10 p.m., Fraserview Banquet Hall, 8240 Fraser Street, Vancouver.
The theme of the evening will be 'Joy & Justice' with guest speaker April Sims, Secretary Treasurer for the Washington State Labour Council, AFL-CIO.
March 8 - City of Vancouver Archives, 1150 Chestnut, Vancouver. Celebrate International Women's Day (March 8) at the opening of An Army of Lovers, a retrospective look at lesbian activism in the '70s & '80s. A retrospective on lesbians, two spirit, and trans folks who gave their heart and soul to building a better world.
New Westminster
March 10 – Period, Politics & Beyond! 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Douglas College, 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster. Hear from advocates, community organizers and entrepreneurs about advancing menstrual equity in British Columbia. Please bring tampons, pads and/or other menstrual supplies for donation to the Period Promise Campaign, which will be distributed to local women's shelters.
Surrey
March 8 - International Women's Day 1:20 p.m. Library Strawberry Hills, 7399 122nd Street, Surrey Speakers include: Nilda Copa - Movement Towards Socialism (MAS - Bolivia), Aishe Ghosh (JNU Students' Union - India), Oscar Ortiz (FMLN - El Salvador).
Victoria
March 8 - International Women's Day: Women & Girls Making a Difference for the Environment
1 p.m. – 3 p.m., St. Margaret's School, 1080 Lucas Avenue, Victoria
Join keynote speaker Elizabeth May and four other dynamic women as they offer their perspectives on what we can do as individuals to address the urgency of climate change.
Nanaimo
March 6 - Wikipedia Editathon in celebration of International Women's Day 12 p.m.- 3 p.m., Nanaimo Museum, 100 Museum Way, Nanaimo As Wikipedia contributors and editors we can make positive change and help to create a gender equal world by challenging stereotypes, fighting bias, broadening perceptions, and celebrating women's achievements, and by doing this work informed by feminist ethics such as ethics of care. No previous editing skills or Wikipedia knowledge required
Prince George
March 7 - International Woman's Day Breakfast 8:30 a.m. Coast Inn of the North, 770 Brunswick St, Prince George
North Central Woman's Committee will be hosting our annual breakfast to celebrate woman. Breakfast will be served at 9 a.m. Tickets are $30 each. Please contact Natalie @250-613-9408 for tickets. Once again we will have a delicious breakfast, amazing speakers and door prizes!
UWU/MoveUP
The B.C. Government & Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) has filed a common employer application at the BC Labour Relations Board (LRB) seeking to consolidate all nine of the union's bargaining units with Well Being Services/Retirement Concepts (WBS/RC) into a single bargaining unit. The move to a single bargaining unit would position the union and its members to address many of the issues that have plagued the for-profit facilities operated by WBS/RC – four of which are now under health authority administration due to a failure to meet provincial care standards – including substandard care for seniors, chronic under-staffing, high rates of staff burnout and injury, and a crisis in recruitment and retention.
"Going from nine bargaining units to one would be a great first step towards fixing the failures of the for-profit seniors care system, and holding the operators accountable for the dismal conditions they've created for their staff and their clients," says Stephanie Smith, president of the BCGEU. "The bottom line for our union is that for-profit seniors' care should not exist-we believe all seniors' care should be publicly funded and publicly delivered. But as long as for-profit care does exist, our members and the seniors they care for deserve the confidence that there is some transparency and accountability built into the system."
The erosion of both working conditions and standards of care in for-profit seniors' care was set in motion in the early 2000s when the previous BC Liberal government passed laws allowing contract flipping in the sector. Those laws weakened workers' rights, created a race to the bottom for wages and working conditions, and allowed operators to maximize profit at the expense of people. With these laws now repealed by the BC NDP, unions are able to push for stronger bargaining rights without the threat of contract flipping and workers losing their jobs.
"For years, contract-flipping was a knife at the throat of workers and the unions that represent them-operators could, and did, respond to pressure for improved working conditions by flipping contracts," said Smith. "Now that the knife has been removed, we are making up for lost time. A common employer designation would be a major step in the right direction. Our members, and seniors, deserve it."
While consolidating bargaining units can bring greater stability to the for-profit side of B.C. seniors' care, as a long-term solution the BCGEU continues to call for the sector to be publicly funded and publicly delivered.
8,000 BCGEU members are employed in seniors' care with 3,000 of those working in long-term care facilities.
For more information contact: BCGEU Communications communications@bcgeu.ca
UWU/MoveUP
(Burnaby, BC)Following a shareholder proposal by the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has confirmed that it will not provide lending or financing services to companies including GEO Group (NYSE: GEO) and Core Civic (NYSE: CXW). These U.S. private prison companies operate the majority of U.S. detention facilities currently detaining migrant families and children.
Following productive negotiations and in exchange for withdrawing the shareholder proposal, RBC has also agreed to:
"Shareholder advocacy is a major priority for the BCGEU-we invest our members' dues to grow our union and we make sure to leverage those investments to demand action from companies on the issues that matter to our members and all working people," says Stephanie Smith, BCGEU President. "Private prison companies have been at the centre of the appalling human rights crisis at the U.S. border, and as investors, we had the power to take action. And that action has delivered fantastic results: Not only has RBC committed not do business with U.S. private prison companies, they've also committed to greater human rights disclosure and engagement."
The detention of undocumented immigrants and asylum-seekers, especially the separation of minor children from their parents entering the U.S. outside of ports of entry, has spurred global criticism. Reports detail inhumane conditions in detention centers with children sleeping on cement floors and suffering from hunger, inadequate health care, and abuse. There have been numerous deaths inside these facilities.
Through its general fund and defence fund investments, the BCGEU is a shareholder in Royal Bank of Canada and, as such, is entitled to file proposals for consideration at the bank's 2020 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.
"RBC's decision is proof that doing the right thing for human rights is also good for the bottom line," said Smith. "We couldn't be happier with this outcome but that doesn't mean we're finished. We applaud RBC's leadership on this issue, and we will be monitoring progress closely while we decide what issues to tackle next."
This week, BCGEU will send letters to Canada's largest banks asking them to assess the risks of doing business with U.S. private prison companies and to publicly announce the results of those assessments.
Over the past three years, the BCGEU's push for human rights and labour rights reforms in the companies in which they invest has established the union as a leader in Canada. Recently, the union has filed proposals calling for policies on greenhouse gas emissions, supply chain transparency, enhanced corporate governance and human rights policies, among others.
RBC's AGM will take place on April 8, 2020 in Toronto.
Read the excerpt from RBC's management circular here.
UWU/MoveUP
The BCGEU has prepared a detailed analysis of Budget 2020 to help members understand how the targeted investments in programs, infrastructure and affordability will impact members:
Although prudent and perhaps cautious in tone, Budget 2020 is progressive – which is much needed at a time when other provincial governments in Canada are implementing harsh austerity programs.
There's a lot to celebrate about this budget:
However, none of this will happen without our members and adequate staffing levels. Workload, recruitment and retention, burnout, and occupational health and safety are existing challenges for workers in practically every ministry and sector.
The BCGEU looks forward to working with government to put in place a human resources strategy to support the people delivering the programs and services funded by Budget 2020.
UWU/MoveUP
Following six months of negotiations, over 500 BC Government & Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) members working at Broadmead Care Society in Victoria ratified a tentative deal this week that will improve conditions for both workers and seniors at the non-profit organization. Members secured wage increases, weekend shift premiums and the continuation of their Short-Term Illness and Injury Plan (STIIP) benefits.
"This news is most welcome in a sector that has been struggling for decades due to low wages and therefore the inability to retain qualified staff," says BCGEU president Stephanie Smith. "Our members care deeply about their clients, so this is a win for seniors as much as it is for workers."
The quality of seniors' care in B.C., particularly among for-profit facilities, began to degrade after the BC Liberals enacted legislation in the early 2000s that led to the deterioration of working conditions for health and social-sector workers. It also stripped workplace protections and rights and enabled contract-flipping which created a race to the bottom in terms of wages. The BC NDP repealed these laws in late 2018, but the damage will take years to undo.
"We must restore seniors' care as a whole in B.C. and our union wants to see the problematic for-profit model of care eliminated and moved into government as a public service," Smith continues. "Only then will we have a long-term solution that supports our dedicated workforce with good wages and benefits to deliver the standard of care B.C. seniors deserve."
BCGEU members at Broadmead Care Society work as health care workers, activity workers, social workers, therapy assistants and building maintenance workers as well as in food service, administration and more.
The BCGEU represents over 8,000 members in seniors' care with 3,000 working in residential care facilities.
For more information contact BCGEU Communications, communications@bcgeu.ca
UWU/MoveUP
As you are all likely aware, a new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is causing respiratory infections mostly in Hubei Province, China. As of today there is one confirmed case of the virus in B.C.; however, according to the Ministry of Health and the Provincial Health Officer, the risk to British Columbians is considered extremely low.
I want you to know that your union has been closely monitoring this situation since news of the virus first started breaking and we are in direct contact with health authorities as they work to ensure the health and safety of working people and their families across B.C. and coordinate containment and prevention plans.
Our OH&S department gathered the following information for BCGEU members.
What is coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. Some transmit easily from person to person while others do not have that ability. China is conducting further investigations to better understand where the disease came from, how it is transmitted and the severity of illness it causes in humans.
Who is at risk of occupational exposure?
The risk of infection is greatest for persons living with or caring for an individual with the coronavirus. This includes health care aides, dietary workers, housekeepers, activity workers and other heath care workers treating patients with the virus or responding to medical emergencies involving persons infected with the virus.
In fact, any worker in direct contact with the public is at risk, including our members working as corrections officers and even clerical positions. Anyone who comes in close proximity with a possibly infected individual could be at risk for contracting the coronavirus.
What can members do?
Although the risk to British Columbians is considered low, BCGEU is following procedures of the health authorities and the BC Centre for Disease Control and encourages members to take preventative measures to help control possible spread of the virus and protect themselves and others.
The World Health Organization's standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include: regular hand washing, covering your mouth and nose with your arm when coughing and sneezing, avoid touching your eyes, mouth or nose, and thoroughly cooking meat and eggs.
B.C.'s Ministry of Health recommends that anyone who is concerned they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus should contact their primary-care provider, local public health office or call 811.
BCGEU recommends our members do the following:
You may wish to visit the following useful resources for more information about coronavirus:
BC Centre for Disease Control
B.C.'s Ministry of Health
Public Health Agency of Canada
World Health Organization
We will update you on this issue as relevant information becomes available.
In solidarity,
Stephanie Smith, President
UWU/MoveUP
Just over fourteen months ago, your union launched the Public Inquiry Now campaign-making the BCGEU one of the first voices demanding that the provincial government call a public inquiry into the links between the housing affordability crisis, the overdose crisis and criminal money laundering in casinos.
As you know, our campaign succeeded. And Monday I was honoured to take the stand in front of Commissioner Austin Cullen to deliver the BCGEU's opening statement.
Your union is one of only 16 participants granted standing to submit evidence and testimony on the topics covered by the Commission's mandate. More importantly, the BCGEU is the only participant speaking for working people. And we intend to ensure that the lived experience of working people is a central consideration in the Commission's work.
Our opening statement highlighted our support for the actions taken by the current government to fix the interlocking real estate, overdose and money laundering crises that were allowed to escalate over the past two decades. Our statement emphasized your union's support for the casino sector and those who work in it as a vital source of revenue for important public services. And our statement also made our expectations clear:
You can read my full statement here. And you can follow the proceedings on the Commission's website. All public hearings are webcast live and available in an archive at https://cullencommission.ca/webcast-live/ .
Delivering our opening statement is a great milestone in our work with the Commission. We have more work to do. We will continue compiling feedback from our members working in the sectors vulnerable to this crisis. In the coming weeks and months, you will receive more communication from your union about how you can provide information to the Commission. For now, if you have information you think may be relevant to the Commission's mandate, please visit or email publicinquiry.bcgeu.ca and inquiry@bcgeu.ca.
We would not be here without the many BCGEU members who were among the first to raise the alarm on money laundering in the province, and who ensured our union was among the first voices in civil society to call for a public inquiry. I want to thank you for your perseverance and solidarity on these important issues. I assure you that your voice will continue to be central to our work as we move forward.
In solidarity,
Stephanie Smith
President
UWU/MoveUP