File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Labour Strife

On verge of deal, talks between Cariboo Regional District, BCGEU break off

Jun 21, 2024 | 4:43 PM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — The war of words is heating up between the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) and its striking employees, who are heading into a seventh week of job action.

In a news release issued late Friday (June 21), the CRD says talks between the district and the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) broke down earlier in the day.

The district says both sides were ready to agree on wages at a 12.5 per cent hike over three years, but the union “walked away from the table” because of specific terms it wanted to see in the agreement.

“I cannot express enough how truly hopeful I was for a resolution today and how exceptionally disappointed I am that talks yet again broke down or that once again the [u]nion approached negotiations with perceivably little interest in meeting us in the middle,” said CRD CAO Murray Daly in the release. “Despite significant improvements to our offer for wage increases, the [u]nion has moved its offers in the opposite direction, demanding more than it had asked for at the start of the strike.”

The BCGEU responded with on Friday evening with a statement.

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: December 12, 2024

54m ago

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: North Shore BIA working hard to develop a 'happening place'

6h ago

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Moons

Dec 10, 2024

“We pushed for bargaining to resume and we came to a verbal agreement with the CRD today after hours of negotiations, but then at the last minute the CRD reneged on that agreement,”  BCGEU president Paul Finch said in the statement. “We negotiated language into the agreement that would provide picketing workers with protection against discipline for their involvement in bargaining. This is very reasonable and standard post-strike contract language.”