Striking members of the union representing Metro Vancouver’s outside workers are setting up picket lines at watersheds, water treatment plants, and protective services Friday as they ramp up job action.
The Greater Vancouver Regional District Employees’ Union (GVRDEU) says most workers at those facilities in Coquitlam and North Vancouver are set to be off the job.
However, it says, those designated as essential service workers will remain on the job, with management filling in some of the empty roles.
GVRDEU president Jesse Medeiros says as workers remain without a contract after 17 months, the union is getting closer to a full-scale strike.
“Metro Vancouver management refuse to return to bargaining with contract proposals as a precondition that have already been rejected by our union,” said Medeiros.
“That is asking for capitulation, not negotiation, and we will not accept those preconditions.”
He says there have been three weeks of job action, and the union is doing its best to minimize impact on the public.
But he says they are running out of options.
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“Mayors and councillors on Metro Vancouver’s Board need to step up and demand management get back to negotiations.”
In a statement, Metro Vancouver said it is willing to get back to the table with the help of a mediator.
“While the union has characterized mediation as a precondition, we do not,” the statement said.
“We see it as an important and practical step, after almost a year of bargaining, to help both parties make progress and reach an agreement.”
This latest job action comes at the end of a week that saw rotating strikes at various Metro Vancouver facilities and locations. 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. Thursday saw picket lines being set up at works yards, an operation centre, and a reservoir in Delta and Surrey.
The GVRDEU represents more than 700 members who maintain and operate regional services.
— With files from The Canadian Press