Image Credit: Cariboo Regional District

By James Peters

Labour Strife

BCGEU members set up picket line outside Cariboo Regional District office in Williams Lake

May 13, 2024 | 2:22 PM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) members employed by the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) have hit the picket line.

The union says nearly 50 members who work at the CRD’s headquarters in Williams Lake decided to step up job action from an overtime ban to a full strike as of Monday (May 13).

A picket line is set up at the main CRD office in Williams Lake. The only staff who remain on the job are those whose duties are considered essential services.

Elsewhere, the BCGEU says library workers in Williams Lake will continue to report for work. The CRD closed its libraries on May 9 in anticipation of strike action. (UPDATE: The CRD now says libraries will reopen Tuesday (May 14).)

The union says other employees throughout the district will continue coming to work, though they have instituted an overtime ban.

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“From waste management and library services to utilities, on to wildfire response and flood mitigation, our members do everything they can to keep the region safe and vibrant,” said BCGEU Treasurer Paul Finch in a news release. “But they can only continue to work in our community if they can actually afford to call the Cariboo Region home.”

The labour dispute chiefly revolves around wages. The CRD says its last offer, which was rejected by the union last week, included a three-year, 11 per cent wage increase.

The union warns it may further escalate job action if the CRD “is not prepared to bargain in good faith and return to the table with a revised deal that will meet locals’ needs.”