Striking Metro Vancouver workers walk out of wastewater facilities

Striking Metro Vancouver workers withdrew from five wastewater treatment plants run by the regional district Monday.

Greater Vancouver Regional District Employees’ Union (GVRDEU) officially filed a 72-hour strike notice with the BC Labour Relations Board on Thursday after bargaining with its employer reportedly reached an impasse.

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The strike officially began Sunday with the union warning that outside workers would begin taking job action, starting with a ban on overtime work until further notice.

As of 4:30 a.m. Monday, the union says members walked off the job “at five wastewater treatment plants across the region and other facilities to force Metro Vancouver management to return to bargaining without preconditions.”

GVRDEU President Jesse Medeiros says the regional district’s management has refused to address members’ concerns, and won’t come back to the table without the union accepting its last position.

“That’s capitulation, not negotiation, and we reject that,” Medeiros said.

“Our members’ concerns about worker safety, protection against contracting out bargaining-unit work and measures to support recruitment and retention are all critical, and the union will be forced to escalate job action until Metro Vancouver management returns to bargaining with a real willingness to negotiate.”

Workers have walked out at the following facilities:

• The Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant,
• the Lulu Island Wastewater Treatment Plant,
• the Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant,
• the Northwest Langley Wastewater Treatment Plant,
• the Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant,
• the Annacis Stores Warehouse,
• the Annacis Liquid Waste Services Civil Maintenance Yard,
• the Annacis Research and Event Centre,
• the Annacis Safety Training Centre, and
• the Annacis Air Quality.

“Our members play critical roles in regional parks, in water and sewer operation, and at important infrastructure construction projects in multiple municipalities. If we don’t get a new collective agreement, there will be job action that affects all of them,” said Medeiros.

The union called attention to the North Shore wastewater treatment plant, at which costs ballooned by billions of dollars over the course of its yet-incomplete construction.

It says taxpayers will be forced to pay up to $700 per year per home for 30 years, while Metro Vancouver management increased their own salaries and staffing.

“Their track record is terrible, and forcing our members to take job action is just another sign of that,” Medieros added.

The regional district disagrees and tells 1130 NewsRadio that the costs are less for residents.

“Households on the North Shore will be contributing, on average, an additional $118, starting in 2025. The contribution from residents will be phased in over five years, until the total contribution is an average of an additional $590 a year per household,” said Metro Vancouver spokesperson Jennifer Saltman.

“The cost allocations for the Vancouver Sewerage Area (Vancouver, UBC, and parts of Burnaby and Richmond) average $150 per year, the Lulu Island Sewerage Area (most of Richmond) averages $80 per year, and the Fraser Sewerage Area (most other areas of Metro Vancouver) averages $90 per year.”

She clarifies that the specific amount a household pays will vary by municipality and whether the cost is included in utility rates, property taxes, or a combination of the two.

Earlier this month, the regional district reached a settlement agreement with the original contractor behind the North Shore wastewater facility.

A joint statement from Metro Vancouver and Acciona Wastewater Solutions says they have gone through mediation and reached an agreement with the company paying $235 million to Metro Vancouver, resolving lawsuits filed by both sides.

The GVRDEU says it will take further action soon unless bargaining resumes.

–With files from Jan Schuermann and The Canadian Press