Union scores victory with Labour Relations Board
Posted July 5, 2012 8:02 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – As workers at ICBC prepare to begin job action on Friday, they’ve been buoyed by a decision by the Labour Relations Board.
The board says wages must be part of the negotiations.
The company had argued it wasn’t in a position to do so, as it awaited the outcome of a government review.
Jeff Gillies with COPE 378 is welcoming the ruling, saying employees should be acknowledged for the work they put into making ICBC a successful company.
“What they put on the table was a five-year collective agreement, with no wage increases, and ICBC has been a very successful company over the last five years. The workers at ICBC that we represent have been a large part of that success.”
Gillies says it’s only fair that pay rates be part of negotiations.
“We learned in April of this year that was the position that [the company] was taking and we just felt that was completely unreasonable and that’s why we took our concerns to the labour board.”
Gillies is confident that ICBC customers should not be affected, as employees refuse to work overtime starting Friday.
