Burnaby(Coast Salish Territories) –B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) members working at LifeLabs across B.C. will commence job action at 7:00 p.m., Friday, October 22. The union served 72-hours strike notice on Wednesday, October 19 after several months of negotiations failed to secure a new collective agreement.
NOTE UPDATE –
LifeLabs has notified the BCGEU through the mediator that it is prepared to resume negotiations this weekend. LifeLabs continues to be committed to negotiations and hopes to reach a fair agreement soon to support the needs of our employees and the communities that they serve.
LifeLabs has been designated as an Essential Service by the BC Labour Relations Board and will remain operational throughout the BCGEU job action. We have worked with the BCGEU to put a plan in place for the essential service levels that we will maintain in order to provide vital outpatient laboratory testing for our patients.
All LifeLabs locations will be open this weekend, as regularly scheduled, per the terms of the Essential Services Order.
“By putting profits ahead of people, LifeLabs created a staffing crisis across their organization that was causing problems for their employees and their patients long before the pandemic,” said BCGEU president, Stephanie Smith. “They’ve refused to work with our members to address the underlying issues at the bargaining table so, unfortunately, job action is the next step.”
The first phase of job action will begin with a rally on Saturday October 23rd at the LifeLabs Burnaby Reference Lab followed by immediate implementation of an over-time ban—in which workers will refuse voluntary over-time hours offered by the employer—and a work-to-rule campaign—which will see workers performing their jobs precisely as outlined in their job descriptions and their last collective agreement. The over-time ban and work-to-rule campaign will be in effect at all 94 LifeLabs locations where the BCGEU represents workers.
There are Lifelabs locations in the Fraser Valley. The job action could affect COVID tests among other blood and urine work.
Workers are prepared to escalate to the next phase of job action, which would include picket lines at specific locations, if their employer fails to offer a fair deal by Monday, November 1.
“Job action doesn’t just mean strikes and picket lines,” said Smith. “By taking a strategic approach like escalating tactics, our members are giving LifeLabs the opportunity to avoid more serious service disruptions by coming forward with an offer that gives these healthcare professionals the wages and working conditions they deserve. On behalf of our members and the patients they serve, I urge LifeLabs to make the most of this opportunity.”
