Metro Vancouver outside workers have walked off the job Monday morning in a full-scale strike, their union says.
This comes after two weeks of members of the Greater Vancouver Regional District Employees’ Union (GVRDEU) ramping up job action, with rotating strikes at a number of locations across the region, including water treatment plants, watersheds, and local parks.
Union president Jesse Medeiros says only essential workers will remain on the job as required by the BC Labour Relations Board.
He says members are angry and frustrated after 17 months without a contract.
“Metro Vancouver management continue to ignore the concerns of the frontline workers who deliver important services across the region,” he said.
“Management will not return to bargaining without the union agreeing to preconditions we’ve previously rejected, and that’s capitulation, not negotiation.”
In a statement to 1130 NewsRadio last week, Metro Vancouver said it was willing to resume talks with the help of a mediator.
“We have put forward 10 additional dates to resume talks, beyond the five previously declined by the union,” it said.
“While the union has characterized mediation as a precondition, we do not. 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.”
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Metro Vancouver says the latest offer includes a wage increase of more than 10 per cent over three years, “which is consistent with other recently negotiated agreements in the region, including with our Teamsters union, and exceeds several other public sector employers.”
As of Monday, workers are off the job at regional parks, watersheds, water and wastewater treatment plants, infrastructure construction sites, and operations yards, among other facilities.
“We regret the inconvenience to the public and appreciate their support in this dispute, but we can’t wait forever to get a new contract for our members,” Medeiros said.
Metro Vancouver says critical services such as drinking water, wastewater treatment, solid waste management, air quality monitoring, access to regional parks, and housing will be maintained without disruption.
We have reached out to Metro Vancouver for further comment.