VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – ICBC workers across BC are planning a one-day walkout next Tuesday, September 18th. Roughly 1600 union members will picket outside 55 claims centres across the province.

It’s the second job action for these workers this month. ICBC workers joined thousands of members of the BC Government Employees Union September 5th for another walkout.

“Hopefully the government will be paying attention this time,” says COPE 378 president David Black. “We’ve been without a collective agreement with ICBC for two years.”

He says the goal of the last walkout, and other job action taken over the summer, was to prompt the employer to go back to the bargaining table.

“We took a strike vote in the spring,” he says. “We were hoping that would get attention from ICBC’s bargaining committee.”

“Unfortunately, that wasn’t successful to the degree we were hoping,” he adds. “We took some very, very limited, and what I would term, a soft job action through the summer, again trying to get the attention of government and ICBC while leaving drivers out of it.And again, that was unsuccessful.”

The claims centres will remain open on September 18th, but they will be staffed at essential service levels only.

Black says the walkout have an impact on people who need service that day.

“People trying to get service from our claims department that day, it will be greatly reduced,” he says. “When we say essential service, we really mean that.”

“We ask people that have a choice to do their business either before the 18th or wait until after the 18th.”

If the latest job action does not work, Black says COPE 378 “will have to look at other options moving forward.”