BC Public Sector Negotiations Get Messy as Unions Split -- BCGEU’s strike threat is undercut by an HEU deal (The Tyee)
Things are getting messy in the current round of contract negotiations for about 452,000 workers in BC’s public sector. The BC General Employees’ Union, representing about 34,000 direct government employees, launched an offensive against the government Friday. Not only did the union announce that 93 per cent of members had voted yes to a strike, but it issued 72-hour strike notice. Meaning job action could start as early as today. But the BCGEU’s threat was muted by the Hospital Employees’ Union, which on Thursday announced it had reached an agreement with the government on the key elements of a deal. The HEU, with twice as many members, appears to have accepted the basic contract framework the BCGEU is fighting ... CLICK HERE for the full story