This is an archive of news stories and research from the National Union of Public and General Employees. Please see our new site - https://nupge.ca - for the most current information.
NUPGE calls on all MPs to pass at second reading: “a ground-breaking piece of legislation in defense of human rights and corporate standards.”
"These workers stuck together to set the industry standard. Our members told Gateway they needed to do better this time and, in the end, they achieved solid contracts with significant wage increases and many other ground-breaking provisions." — Paul Finch, BCGEU Treasurer
“It looks like this government is putting corporate interests ahead of public safety. But there’s still time to fix it, and OPSEU/NUPGE members will keep up the fight to hold them accountable.” — Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU President
Vancouver (12 Dec. 2018) — Details of the tentative agreement reached between the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) for the term of April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2022, are now available for review by members of the Health Sciences Association of B.C. (HSABC/NUPGE).
The current regulations were brought in following a number of heartbreaking tragedies, such as the death of 2-year-old Eva Ravikovich, who died in 2013 after being left in an SUV for hours on a hot summer day.
“OPSEU Local 345 is 98 per cent women, and it’s the only local at the hospital that’s being targeted with a wage freeze." — Eddy Almeida, OPSEU First Vice-President/Treasuer
The report recognizes the challenges faced by frontline social workers and that "their ability to conduct their duties is only as strong as the resources available to them."
"The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has always held the belief that labour rights are human rights. It's a core value that inspires our work every day." — Larry Brown, NUPGE President
“It kind of shows you the state of where our provincial government’s priorities are at when they’re more interested in supporting a for-profit weed farm than investing in the future of our forests.” — Michelle Gawronsky, MGEU President
"I'd like to see a day when the justice system works in favour of abused women and children. A day when we commemorate the end to domestic and stranger violence. A day where we celebrate an end to harassment and discrimination based on gender." — Elisabeth Ballermann, NUPGE Secretary-Treasurer
"That the Prime Minister, instead of allowing you the chance to resolve these issues at the bargaining table, has chosen to support the employer by legislating your members back to work is outrageous. This attack on workers’ rights is something that all of us in the labour movement must take a stand against." — Larry Brown, NUPGE President
"When you do a review, and you only look at the bottom line, it’s safety that suffers.” — Michelle Gawronsky, MGEU President
When social finance is used to privatize public services, costs go up. In addition to investor profits, using social finance to privatize public services means new layers of bureaucracy.
“We were clear from the start that any presumptive workplace mental health legislation would need to cover all workers and not just first responders — mental health doesn’t know or care what job you do. We were very happy to see every worker included in this important legislation." — Jerry Earle, NAPE President
