BCGEU declares overtime ban amid job action
Posted August 22, 2022 8:25 am.
Last Updated August 22, 2022 6:25 pm.
The BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) is ramping up its pressure on the provincial government, adding an overtime ban to its current job action.
The union has immediately asked its members to refuse all non-emergency overtime. The action applies to all of its workers in the B.C. public service but does not apply to union members in the BC Wildfire Service for the duration of the season.
“B.C.’s public service has been reliant on our members’ overtime for far too long and dealing with the systemic issues behind that reliance is part of what we’re trying to achieve in this round of bargaining,” said BCGEU President Stephanie Smith, who is also chair of the union’s public service bargaining committee.
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“We hope this escalation gives government the incentive they need to invite us back to the bargaining table and negotiate a deal that will ensure robust, sustainable public services for our province and a fair deal for BCGEU members and all public sector workers.”
The union says the aim is to put more pressure on the employer to acknowledge and address critical systemic issues, like chronic understaffing, high turnover, and excessive workloads.
It adds that overtime in non-emergency situations “can mask the true impact” of these issues, adding many workers also feel pressured to work OT to help serve their communities.
The BCGEU goes on to say that reliance on overtime isn’t sustainable and that it can have a detrimental and dangerous effect on employees and services.
Members of the BCGEU have already been picketing four BC Liquor Distribution Centres, resulting in a tightening supply of alcohol in the province.
BCGEU members have been working without a collective agreement since April 1. Negotiations began this February, though the union says “bargaining reached an impasse on April 6.”
Ninety-five-per-cent of union members voted in favour of strike action in June.
