VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The BCGEU has announced its next round of job action. An overtime ban will take effect on Monday.

“Because we are the leanest public sector in the country, and because there is constant, not downsizing but through attrition, loss of members, there’s a lot of overtime that’s worked in the public sector,” says BCGEU President Darryl Walker. “There’s a lot of overtime that’s worked in the public sector, so this will impact how services are provided.”

On September 5th, the union staged a one-day strike along with members of COPE 378 — which represents about 1,600 workers at ICBC claims centres around the province. For BCGEU members, it was the fourth one-day strike this year.

ICBC workers plan to picket again on Tuesday, September 18th, but Walker says his members, for the most part, will not be involved in that.

“If we’re actually co-located at those sites, then our members will be joining [ICBC workers] on the picket lines,” he says.

BCGEU members and their counterparts with COPE 378 have been without a collective agreement for the past two years.

Walker says after three and a half years without a raise, the current offer from the government isn’t enough to cover the rate of inflation.