Striking BCGEU workers reach tentative new deal

A tentative new collective agreement has been reached between the BC General Employees’ Union and its administrative support staff.

Workers in Fort St. John and across B.C. walked off the job on Nov. 9, and are represented by the Movement of United Professionals (MoveUP). Christy Slusarenko, vice-president of MoveUP, said in a release Wednesday that workers are happy to be back at the table.

“We are pleased to see we were able to return to the table with the employer and, through mediation, address the critical issues that our members identified and come to an agreement,” Slusarenko said in a statement.

“Our members wanted to see the employer’s offer respect the work that they do and compensate them fairly for the value they bring to the organization. We feel this agreement does that, and we will be endorsing it to our members and recommending they accept the deal.”

No date has been set to ratify the agreement, and MoveUP says there will be no further job action while the two parties continue to work on the details.

tsummer@ahnfsj.ca

Tom Summer, Local Journalism Initiative, Alaska Highway News