BCGEU rejects Cariboo Regional District’s latest contract offer despite agreement on wages

Courtesy of the Cariboo Regional District:

Talks broke down today with the BC General Employees’ Union, which has now set its members up for a seventh week of strike action. Although both parties were ready to agree on wages, BCGEU walked away from the table over specific terms they demanded from the settlement agreement.  

“I cannot express enough how truly hopeful I was for a resolution and how exceptionally disappointed I am that talks yet again broke down or that once again the Union approached negotiations with perceivably little interest in meeting us in the middle,” said Murray Daly, Chief Administrative Officer of the Cariboo Regional District, “Despite significant improvements to our offer for wage increases, the Union has moved its offers in the opposite direction, demanding more than it had asked for at the start of the strike.”

The rejected settlement agreement would have seen unionized employees’ wages increased by 12.5% over three years. As a result, the Union has strongly indicated that strike action will continue for a seventh week.

The Cariboo Regional District remains committed to achieving a fair agreement for both its employees and citizens, and remains committed to negotiating such an agreement at the bargaining table.