Over 80 BCGEU members receive employment security notices today

Over 80 BCGEU members are receiving employment security notices today, marking the end of the initial 90-day placement process under Article 13 of the collective agreement.

This follows initial notices in April when the government announced the third round of job redundancies in the public service. The impacted ministries are the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, the Ministry of Forests & Range, and the Integrated Lands Management Bureau.

Approximately 200 members who received redundancy notices in April have been in the first stage of the placement process guided by the work of the ministry Article 29 Joint Committees. During this first stage, members are considered for alternate job placement opportunities primarily in their own community and this process takes 90 days. Significant efforts have been underway through this timeframe which has resulted in many members being placed into alternate jobs, taking severance, or retiring.

With the completion of the first phase, the Joint Workforce Adjustment Steering Committee looks for opportunities across all ministries and in all areas of the province. The new employment security language contained in the recently negotiated 15th Master Agreement will ensure that all regular members will at the very least receive a reasonable offer of alternative employment in the public service.

The province has recently announced that these cuts which have been previously announced mark the end of any further "budget related" job cuts. However, it is still anticipated that many ministries will not fill vacant jobs as the province uses attrition to achieve 4,000 job cuts over three years, as noted in the last budget and service plans.

Of the total number of public service jobs which have been cut so far, BCGEU members make up the majority – a total of 536 members have received notice under Article 13.1 of the collective agreement.

The forth and final round of impacts will mark the end of their initial 90-day placement process late next month.

This is clearly a time of great stress for all members, and certainly the impacted members will feel singled out as they proceed through the collective agreement placement process. The BCGEU will continue to assist impacted members and try to achieve voluntary placement options as much as we are able. If members have questions about the ongoing placement process, or have any particular concerns or problems, they should contact their local steward and the union co-chair of their ministry’s Article 29 committee.

Click here for Article 29 Committee Members.