BCFED Update | September 2021

On behalf of BCFED

Hello Friends,
And a happy belated Labour Day.

This week, the BCFED released a seminal new report on the case for 10 days of employer-paid sick leave. Titled, An Equitable Recovery – The Case for Paid Sick Leave as a Right of Employment in BC, this is our contribution to the BC government’s consultation that will shape the paid sick leave program coming into effect this January.

The report shows that paid sick leave is a fundamental part of how we build a strong and equitable economy and safeguard public health. And that BC lags badly behind other jurisdictions. It also includes exclusive polling that shows nine-in-ten British Columbians (89%) agree that businesses have a responsibility to provide paid sick leave; and that more than four-in-five British Columbians (86%) support our proposal for 10 employer-paid sick days.

We hope you’ll join our campaign and help share our call to action to legislate 10 employer-paid days for all workers!

Laird Cronk, President
Sussanne Skidmore, Secretary-Treasurer

LABOUR HERITAGE CENTER

BC hospital dietary and cleaning workers with the Hospital Employees Union scored a historic win against privatization, brining their jobs back into the public sector. Read about their decades long fight in this excellent blog post.

STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS

Please respect the unions’ picket lines in the following disputes, and do not patronize these businesses until the dispute is settled.

UNITE HERE Local 40 vs Pacific Gateway Hotel
Major Issues: Recall Rights, Concessions
Commenced: May 3, 2021

UNITE HERE Local 40 vs Hilton Metrotown
Major Issues: Refusal to extend recall rights, Concessions
Commenced: February 12, 2021

IBEW 213 vs Ledcor
Major Issues: First agreement (in bargaining for 2 years), mass terminations, working conditions, pay & benefits, job security & seniority
Commenced: September 30, 2019

BOYCOTTS & HOT EDICTS

Boycott: Pacific Gateway Hotel, Richmond, BC – UNITE HERE Local 40/BCFED
Boycott: Hilton Metrotown, Burnaby, BC – UNITE HERE Local 40/BCFED

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY COURSES

Safe, convenient and effective virtual classrooms
The delivery method has changed, but all BCFED Health & Safety Centre virtual courses offer the comprehensive curriculum and learning outcomes many have come to trust. The Centre’s virtual classroom training still applies adult learning principles to ensure learning is engaging, relevant and effective. Our virtual classrooms offer live, real-time learning, providing the benefits of traditional in-person training. Due to demand, we have added additional courses to our virtual course schedule.

Request a course
Beyond scheduled classes, and where participant numbers warrant, we can also work with you to coordinate almost any of our training courses in a virtual classroom for all workers and workplace representatives. Request a course