[BC_Labour_E-NEWS] April 21

[bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net]

BC LABOUR NEWS NETWORK
Electronic News from the B.C. Federation of Labour
April 21, 2004
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CONTENTS

1> Mediator books out of health care negotiations: Front line health care
workers need support and solidarity
2> BC Liberals impose legislation on class size provisions already quashed
by Supreme Court
3> Federal government workers in Kelowna, Abbotsford to hold strike votes
4> BC Government Employees' Union and New Democratic Party fight
privatization of confidential information to American firms
5> Members of the Canadian Merchant Service Guild on strike since April 15
6> Leaked details of secret rail sale show BC Liberals continue to mislead
the public
7> Voices for Justice - Planning nearly completed for May Day event
8> Shipyard Workers Federation says BC government should insist on
build-in-BC 

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1>	Mediator books out of health care talks: Front line health care
workers need support and solidarity

Labour Relations Board mediator Stephen Rinfret, appointed at the request of
health employers in a dispute between the Hospital Employers Association of
BC (HEABC) and the Facilities Subsector Bargaining Association (FSBA),
yesterday booked himself out of talks when it became clear that HEABC has no
intention of putting a hold on layoffs during negotiations or revising their
concessions package.

The Labour Relations Board is today expected to set essential services
levels and unions representing 43,000 hospital and long-term care staff
could be on strike as early as the end of the week.

Health care workers gave the multi-union bargaining association an 89
percent strike vote after the Health Employers Association of B.C. tabled a
100-page package of concession demands and refused to put a hold on layoffs
during negotiations. 

Concessions included wage rollbacks of up to 16 percent, reduced sick leave,
restricted access to long-term disability benefits, vacation leave roll
backs, fewer benefits from part-time workers and elimination of pay equity.

More than 2,500 pink slips have been issued since bargaining began January
9. Though health employers continued to issue layoff notices during the
March 15 -26 strike vote period, turnout was heavy across the province. 

"We believe the attack on health care workers is part of a larger government
drive to put public health care in private hands," said B.C. Federation of
Labour President Jim Sinclair in a bulletin released today. "We are calling
upon all union members throughout the province to show strong support on
picket lines and at rallies."

The Hospital Employees' Union, which represents 40,000 of the 43,000
affected workers, released a poll April 19 showing that seven out of ten
British Columbians put quality care before cost cutting in contract talks.

"This poll reflects the public's day-to-day interactions with the health
care system," says Hospital Employees' Union (HEU) secretary-business
manager Chris Allnutt. "British Columbians have no illusions about what the
impact of further attacks on the wages and benefits of health care would be
on health care - lower quality care and less access to services."

Union members can send messages of support to affected workers on HEU's
website: < http://www.heu.org > 

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2>	BC Liberals impose legislation on class size provisions already
quashed by Supreme Court 

The BC Liberal government introduced legislation April 20 that prohibits
contractual guarantees on class-size limits, services to students with
special needs or support from specialist teachers in BC schools. 

The legislation exactly mirrors an arbitrator's decision that was quashed
four months ago by the BC Supreme Court.

"This bill reflects an utter disregard for the decision of the BC Supreme
Court," said British Columbia Teachers' Federation Second Vice-president
Irene Lanzinger. "Clearly, this government is prepared to go to any length
to remove services from children."

Bill 19, the Education Services Collective Agreement Amendment Act, imposes
in law the contract stripping that was earlier conducted by a
government-appointed arbitrator. Eric Rice, appointed by Labour Minister
Graham Bruce, zealously stripped from the teachers' collective agreements
many provisions that protected learning conditions for children.

The BC Teachers' Federation challenged Rice's ruling in the BC Supreme Court
and won. Now, with Bill 19, that fundamentally flawed ruling has been made
law. Perhaps most frightening for what it says about the government's
attitude to legal restraints on its powers, Bill 19 actually provides that
it applies "despite any decision of a court to the contrary."

Here are some examples of provisions that will be stripped under Bill 19:

>From the Kamloops-Thompson collective agreement: "Clear administrative
procedures shall be established for the carrying out of fire and earthquake
drills that expedite the evacuation and care of students with special
needs."

>From the Cariboo-Chilcotin collective agreement: "The placement of a student
with special needs shall be determined by the student's intellectual,
emotional, and physical needs."

>From the Qualicum collective agreement: "Where safety is a factor, the
number of students in a laboratory, shop or other specialized class shall
not exceed the number for which the facility is designed."

"Teachers have worked hard at the bargaining table to ensure services for
students are available. But this government is intent on making it illegal
for us to bargain provisions that protect the education and safety of our 
students. Once again, they are imposing policies that will hurt the most
vulnerable," Lanzinger said.

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3>	Federal government workers in Kelowna, Abbotsford to hold strike
votes

More than 500 unionized employees of the federal government in Kelowna and
Abbotsford began holding strike votes April 20 to back up demands for a fair
contract settlement from the Martin government.

Negotiations for new contracts, which began last September, have bogged down
says Patty Ducharme, spokesperson for the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Key issues for front line workers in the bargaining dispute include a fair
wage increase, job security measures to protect important government
services for the public, improvements for temporary workers, and
"whistleblower" protection so that unionized employees can help keep the
government accountable without fear of retribution.

Ducharme says the only wage offer made by government negotiators so far is
annual percentage increases of 1.75, 1.25 and 1.25 over three years, which
she says is conditional on rollbacks in other existing contract provisions. 
"The offer is particularly insulting given the whopping pay boosts already
granted by the Liberals to senior public sector managers," she says. "Our
members are the people behind important services and programs that Canadians
rely on every day. We deserve more respect at the bargaining table from the
Martin government."

About 400 PSAC members in the Abbotsford area work at Human Resources
Development Canada, Corrections Canada, Transport Canada, and Agriculture
Canada; and as Customs and Immigration officials at nearby border crossings.
In Kelowna, 130 union members work at Canada Employment and Immigration, and
Industry Canada; and as Customs officials at the airport, and civilian staff
at the RCMP.

Today's votes are part of a cross Canada strike ballot involving some
100,000 federal government employees. The strike votes began March 25 and
will wrap up at the end of April when the results will be announced. 
Ducharme says she's optimistic that a strong mandate for job action will put
pressure on the Martin government to return to the table with a more
constructive approach to bargaining.  Contracts for the government workers
expired last summer.

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4>	BC Government and Service Employees' Union and New Democratic Party
fight privatization of confidential information to American firms

Privacy commissioners across the country are rushing to determine whether
private information on Canadians could end up in the hands of American
security organizations after the BCGEU released a legal opinion that says
private information could be subject to the U.S. Patriot Act. Under the Act,
confidential data on Canadians can be seized by American security agencies
without approval from the company. The Act further prohibits the company
from revealing that the records had been seized.

The BC Liberals announced last month that they had chosen Maximus, a private
U.S. based multinational, to administer BC's Medical Services Plan and
Pharmacare programs. The BCGEU has launched legal action to stop the
privatization of MSP and Pharmacare until the full implication of the
Patriot Act is known.

The MSP and Pharmacare programs are just two of the latest examples of
contracting out sensitive Canadian data to American corporations. BC Hydro
customer information was contracted out to Accenture last year, a
Bermuda-based company with a main office in the United States. The federal
Liberals admitted last October that Lockheed Martin, an American defense
company, would be awarded the contract for the 2006 Canadian Census, worth
as much as $85 million.

In the House of Commons that week, Federal NDP MP Bill Blaikie demanded to
know which wing of the Pentagon the information would be stored in. On April
20, in response to a question from Blaikie, MP Stephen Owen, Minister of
Public Works and Government Services, said that the government would review
the decision if the confidentiality and security of Canadian Census
information could not be fulfilled.


For more information on this issue, visit the BCGEU website:

< http://www.bcgeu.ca >

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5>	Members of the Canadian Merchant Service Guild on strike since April
15

The Federal government yesterday appointed mediator Bill Lewis to help
resolve a dispute between the Council of Marine Carriers and the Canadian
Merchant Service Guild (CMSG). 

The CMSG, which represents about 800 Masters, Mates, Pilots, Engineers and
other marine officers along the B.C. Coast, has been on strike since April
15. Tug and barge operators, who tow everything from medical supplies to
building materials, have been in negotiations since last summer, but have
yet to receive a fair wage offer. 

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6>	Leaked details of secret rail sale show BC Liberals continue to
mislead the public

With more public revelations regarding the sale of BC Rail coming to light
over the weekend, B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair today
called on the BC Liberals to come clean, stop misleading the public and
release the secret details of the deal.

"The more we learn about this deal, the more we know it stinks," said
Sinclair, commenting on media reports over the weekend which revealed the
government has signed away control of BC Rail to CN Rail for potentially 990
years. Sinclair says the latest revelations are not surprising, noting that
in 1996, CN donated $122,000 to the Liberals. 

"Far from the government's promise of restored passenger service, this deal
will allow CN to discontinue service on any part of the rail line," said
Sinclair. "If that happens, valuable tracts of land now owned by the public
could be sold to CN Rail for just one dollar."

Community leaders from up and down the rail line have already called on the
government to suspend the sale of BC Rail while the deal is still related to
an ongoing criminal investigation involving raids on the BC legislature. The
provincial government has since been forced to cancel the sale of the BC
Rail Roberts Bank Port Sub-division.

"We will continue our campaign to stop the sale of BC Rail and have plans to
make representations to the Canada Competition Bureau when the issue is
discussed," added Sinclair. "We will continue supporting the workers and the
communities that depend on BC Rail as they hold this government accountable
for selling off the railway after they promised not to sell it."

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7> Voices for Justice - Planning nearly complete for May Day event

Organizers at the Vancouver and District Labour Council and the B.C.
Federation of Labour say planning is well underway for Voices for Justice,
the May Day march and concert planned for May 1 in downtown Vancouver.

March participants will gather in front of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
(corner Georgia and Hamilton Streets) at 11:00 a.m. Activities, including
street theatre, face painting and other entertainment will take place
between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. The rally and a free 90-minute concert,
featuring Shari Ulrich, Bill Henderson and Roy Forbes (UHF) begins at 1:00
p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver).

The B.C. Federation of Labour will be collecting donations during the
concert to help support the fight by BC Women's Centres to restore
government funding. CUPE BC will be collecting non-perishable food items to
distribute to BC food banks.

"The response to this event has been very encouraging," says Acting
Community and Social Action Director Marie Decaire. "We're still meeting
weekly to ensure the event runs smoothly and are actively seeking volunteers
for the balloon team and public marshalling."

Voices for Justice is sponsored by the B.C. Federation of Labour, the
Vancouver and District Labour Council and the New Westminster and District
Labour Council. The event is open to everyone and entertainment and
activities are suitable for all ages.

If you'd like to volunteer time to the May Day event, please contact Marie
Decaire at 604-430-1421 or send an email: < mailto:community at bcfed.com

To download a PDF poster for this event, click on the link below:

<
http://www.bcfed.com/NR/rdonlyres/efrzplf4anrqdbwxwcwn3u6qjfowbxp2lmtyzixcln
oqfv47h6jjyqq6ffvn3t6gbqsfl35jy6o2toyait5o6vdcl3c/postersmall-opeiu.pdf >

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8>	Shipyard Workers Federation says new ferries should be built in BC 

Washington Marine Group, which owns Vancouver Shipyards, today confirmed
that it has been excluded from bidding on construction of 2 Super-C Class
ferries for BC Ferry Services. The Shipyard General Workers Federation is
calling on the provincial government to intervene and demand new ferries be
built in British Columbia.

"With just this one disastrous decision alone, BC shipyards and workers will
lose more than 1,500 jobs and $220 million in investment," says Federation
president George MacPherson.  "But BC Ferry Services plans on spending up to
$2 billion in total for new ships in the years ahead - that investment and
those jobs should be in British Columbia, not South Korea or Germany or
China."

WMG senior vice-president Rollie Webb confirmed in Province and CKNW reports
today that the firm, which owns Vancouver Shipyards, has been told by BC
Ferry Services that it will not be allowed to bid for the 2 new
superferries.  
The WMG statement confirmed information released by Shipyard General Workers
Federation Tuesday, based on sources within the ferry system.

MacPherson said it is clear that BC Ferry Services spokesman Mark Stefanson
and Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon are not being straightforward with
the public about their intention to export BC jobs and investment to foreign
countries.  He said both Falcon and Stefanson indicated no decision had been
made to exclude BC bidders but clearly WMG has heard differently.

"BC shipyards and shipyard workers are not only being denied jobs and
investment, the BC government and BC Ferry Services isn't even giving us a
fair chance to compete with foreign shipyards," MacPherson said.

"We know that when you factor in the benefits of direct and indirect job
creation, workers and companies paying taxes here in BC and the boost this
gives local industries to bring in additional shipyard work, that the BC
government should insist on investing in our province, not in South Korea or
Germany or China," MacPherson said.

The construction job would create about 1,500 direct and indirect jobs over
three years.

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