WHITE ROCK — Municipal services could soon come to a standstill if White Rock workers decide to strike following the breakdown of labour talks with the city.
Following nearly a year of unsuccessful bargaining between the two sides, a mediator was recently brought in to find a resolution, but that also proved fruitless.
And with White Rock employees having voted overwhelmingly in favour of striking in February, the union, CUPE 402-01, is now looking at escalating to job action.
"So now we're going to move to then next step which is an essential services meeting and possible job action after that," said CUPE 402-01 President Mike Guraliuk. "I mean, we're always hopeful that we're going to come to a resolution. Just because we're at this stage doesn't mean we're over over. The city can call us back anytime but we have to look ahead and be prepared."
When asked what some of the union's main issues were, Guraliuk said, "We're looking for protection for our vacations and stuff from WCB. In our contract there's a clause that says if we're injured on the job working for the employer we get our holidays pro-rated. We're looking for benefits for our casuals and part timers, which is currently about half of what all of the other municipalities are. And protection for our hours of work."
At this point, it's unclear what job action might look like in White Rock and how it may affect the city as the union's workers are involved in all facets of the community's daily operations.
"Our workers, we're inside and outside so we do everything from collecting the garbage to recycling and green waste to processing taxes and parking, so all aspects of the functionality of the city," explained Guraliuk. "So it will be a broad scope of services affected."
However, that doesn't mean the entire city would be affected at once. As part of the job action process, both sides are to meet to discuss what might be considered essential services.
"So we'll sit down with the city and have an open and frank discussion with them and see where we go from there," said Guraliuk. "At the end of the day it's ultimately a mediator that decides which services are essential. So the city can make recommendations, we make recommendations and if we don't agree then a mediator decides."
