City of WL Strike Update #2

Courtesy of HQCariboo.com:

The City of Williams Lake and it's unionized employees will head back to the bargaining table on Wednesday. (Feb 6th)

John Dube, the Service Agent for the International Union of Operating Engineers local 882, has confirmed that Thursday and Friday have also been set aside for talks.

He says he is always optimistic but has no idea if the City will take concessions off of the table.

The union is armed with a 95 percent strike mandate but for now Dube says strike notice is on hold while the two sides figure out what services are essential.

Dube says they have agreed on some things but not everything and are now making submissions to the Vice Chair of the Labour Relations Board.

Dube says once they do agree then the union is in a position to serve 72-hour strik notice.

He feels the Cariboo Memorial Complex will not be deemed as essential and therefore it will not be open during a strike.

Dube does say however that they are willing to provide the operators to look after the refrigeration and keep the ice in.

He says that way users could then resume their seasons quickly should a strike not be a long one.