For BCGEU member who works for the Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure (MOTI) in Commercial Vehicle Safety & Enforcement (CVSE).

Since our last email to you on May 20 about the Compliance Agreement between WorkSafeBC and CVSE, our union has continued to engage with the employer about health and safety for workers in CVSE. 

We met with the employer to hear about their plans to meet the requirements of the Compliance Agreement. In that meeting, we provided our feedback which included:

• Emphasizing the need for workers to be involved throughout this process, including the participation of JOHS committees.
• That transparency and good communication with staff should be a top priority.
• Specific suggestions around accessing law enforcement expertise and ensuring all options for mitigating the risk of workplace violence are considered.

Experts from the BC Public Service Agency (PSA) will be leading the process of conducting a violence risk assessment and reviewing existing measures for the prevention of violence in CVSE. As part of this process, a working group has been established to guide and support the PSA. Two BCGEU representatives will participate in this working group: Megan Scott (BCGEU OHS Officer), and Myke Labelle (CTI Portable, Victoria). To support the BCGEU's involvement in this working group, Megan and Myke are happy to hear from you about your experiences and your ideas about improvements that could be made to prevent workplace violence. You can reach them by email at [email protected] and/or [email protected]. 

Over the next five to six months, as the violence risk assessment and violence prevention plan review proceed, the BCGEU will be organizing additional consultation with members in CVSE to provide input. We will provide more details about exactly what this will look like in the coming weeks/months. 

The violence risk assessment process will begin with an anonymous staff survey, which we anticipate will be sent out via email in early July. BCGEU members are strongly encouraged to complete this survey. Having detailed information from all staff about their experiences on the job is critical for the employer to better understand the risks and to implement appropriate measures to address workplace violence. We urge you to answer the survey honestly and frankly, and to take the time to provide detailed responses to the open-ended questions. 

If you have questions about your health and safety at work, please contact your local OHS rep or steward, or email [email protected]. 
In solidarity, 

Stephanie Smith, BCGEU President
Rob Davis, BCGEU Component 20 Vice President

Download PDF of notice here.

UWU/MoveUP