Picket lines are being set up at Metro Vancouver facilities in Delta and Surrey — including works yards, an operation centre, and a reservoir — on Thursday, as members of the Greater Vancouver Regional District Employees’ Union (GVRDEU) escalate their job action.
GVRDEU president Jesse Medeiros says the union is getting closer to a full-scale strike across Metro Vancouver.
“…our members are fed up with no contract for 17 months and no talks planned because management refuses to give up preconditions to return to bargaining,” he said.
“We are trying hard to minimize inconvenience to the public, but unless there are new talks, there will indeed be a full-scale strike.”
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Medeiros says members’ main sticking points are health and safety conditons, work being contracted out, and recruiting and retention. He says these concerns are being ignored by their employer.
On Monday, the GVRDEU set up picket lines outside the Grouse Grind and two other regional parks but removed them a day later, saying it didn’t want to inconvenience the public. On Wednesday, rotating pickets were set up at the Northwest Langley Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Lulu Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Richmond.
In a statement earlier this week, Metro Vancouver said it was “ready to return to the bargaining table with the support of a mediator as soon as possible, with no preconditions.”
The GVRDEU represents more than 700 members who maintain and operate regional services.
1130 NewsRadio has reached out to Metro Vancouver for comment.
— With files from The Canadian Press