[BC_Labour_E-NEWS] March 17

[bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net]

BC LABOUR NEWS NETWORK
Electronic News from the B.C. Federation of Labour
March 17, 2004
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CONTENTS

1> B.C. Federation of Labour releases leaked documents showing Premier has
backroom plan to eliminate WCB control of workers' health and safety in oil
and gas sector
2> B.C.G.E.U. asks courts to save Medical Services Plan 
3> CCPA releases Alternative Federal Budget

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Leaked information shows Premier has backroom plan to eliminate WCB control
of workers' Health and Safety in oil and gas sector

Industry representatives say plan is disastrous

1>	Vancouver - B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair today
said Gordon Campbell should keep his hands off workers' health and safety.
Sinclair made the comments in connection with leaked information that shows
overwhelming industry opposition to a backroom plan that would eliminate
Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) oversight of health and safety in the oil
and gas sector.

"At a time when industry insiders are calling the provincial Oil and Gas
Commission a mess, the Premier wants to give the Commission responsibility
for safety," said Sinclair.  "It's a dumb plan."

Hatched in the Premier's office, the plan proposes new legislation to take
jurisdiction for worker's health and safety in the oil and gas sector away
from the WCB and transfer it to the Oil and Gas Commission (OGC).  According
to information obtained in a leaked government e-mail, the new Act would
'supercede the Workers' Compensation Act.'

"This is a high-risk industry that demands more scrutiny and vigilant
enforcement," said Sinclair.  "Workers' health and safety is not a political
tool for the Premier to use to pay back his corporate sponsors."

Leaked e-mail correspondence also shows concerns raised by industry groups
and associations that represent employers involved in oil and gas fieldwork.
Mike Doyle, President of the Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractors
expressed "...strong opposition to such an endeavor".  Patrick Delaney,
Petroleum Services Association of Canada's Director of Health, Safety and
Government Relations echoed those concerns.

"Moving OH&S (occupational health and safety) enforcement to the Oil and Gas
Commission would be a disaster," he writes.  "We need to make our views
known to the government before this initiative takes on a life of its own
and is impossible to stop."

Small Explorers and Producers Association Director Brian Vermeulan points
out that "...having OH&S under an already dysfunctional regime will just
cause further disorganized mayhem."

"The Liberal government's history in this area shows just how little concern
they have for worker health and safety," said Sinclair.  "In 2002, while the
industry recorded record increases in activity, the Liberals reduced WCB
Safety and Prevention Officers from nine to four."

Sinclair called the government's plan particularly surprising given the WCB
is currently conducting public hearings regarding changes to health and
safety regulations.  "There's been no talk of the Premier's plans, nor has
there been any consultation with the labour movement," Sinclair said.

According to WCB statistics, between 1998 and 2002 the number of fatalities
in the oil and gas sector has increased from four per year to eleven.
Sinclair called on the government to immediately shelve their plan and put
workers' health and safety first.

"Workers gave up plenty of their personal rights to put the WCB into place
in exchange for safer, healthier working environments," said Sinclair.  "The
government has no right to take that away."

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2> BCGEU asks courts to save Medical Services Plan
Sell-off to private U.S. firm may put medical records in FBI hands

Victoria - The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU/NUPGE)
has asked the courts to review plans by the province's Liberal government to
sell off the provincial Medical Services Plan to a U.S. company.

"We are asking the court to find that selling the administration of medicare
is a violation of the B.C. Medicare Protection Act, the Canada Health Act,
and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act," says BCGEU
president George Heyman.

The government plans to turn over MSP to either IBM or Maximus - both
American multinational corporations - by the end of August.

"In addition to worries about how this will affect our health care system,
there are serious issues of personal privacy," said Heyman. "It should
remain in the care of public employees who are bound by an oath of office to
keep it confidential."

The expert opinion BCGEU will provide the court says the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) could have access to MSP records under the so-called USA
Patriot Act. This information includes health treatment, pharmacy, income
tax, mental health and criminal records, as well as records from the
ministries of children and family development and human resources.

An expert opinion to be submitted to the court says the U.S. Patriot Act
allows the FBI to obtain entire databases of records. The expert opinion
says Section 215 of the Patriot Act allows the FBI to obtain medical records
and other personal information of innocent people. U.S. legal precedents
also suggest that even if the information is held by a Canadian subsidiary,
the American parent company could be required to disclose it.

A formal petition and supporting documents were filed in B.C. Supreme Court
in Victoria on Tuesday. The provincial Medicare Protection Act requires the
Medical Services Commission to operate in accordance with the Canada Health
Act. The Canada Health Act requires that the "health care insurance plan of
a province must be administered and operated on a non-profit basis by a
public authority."

An online petition to oppose the government's move is available to review
and sign at:
< http://www.petitiononline.com/publicpc/ >

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3>	Tenth Annual Alternative Federal Budget released by Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)

The 10th annual CCPA Alternative Federal Budget cuts to the heart of federal
funding scandals - not with more tax cuts and spending restraints but with
hard measures of accountability to clean up federal corporate cronyism.

The AFB's emphasis on accountability includes: no more P3 deals, no more
federal-provincial cash transfers that come without strings attached, no
more Barbados tax havens, and no more patronage appointments.

To get your free copy of Alternative Federal Budget 2004: Rebuilding the
Foundations, please visit the CCPA website.

< http://www.policyalternatives.ca  >

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