Sixty health care providers who work at the newly opened Maple Ridge Seniors Village voted unanimously yesterday to join the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union to help make their workplace better.
The new union members provide care and support services for seniors in a combined residential care/assisted living setting at the 200-unit facility which opened in April. They include licensed practical nurses, care aides, support workers in dietary, housekeeping and laundry, and recreation workers.
"We extend a warm welcome to our new members," says BCGEU president Darryl Walker. "We're proud to be their union of choice.
"The workers joined our organization to address important issues like wages, working conditions, job security and to gain the benefits that come from being a union member," Walker says.
Maple Ridge Seniors Village is operated by Retirement Concepts Ltd., which also runs a number of long term care and assisted living facilities in B.C.
The next step, says Walker, is for union representatives to establish a local bargaining committee and develop priorities for a first contract that will be negotiated with the employer.
Walker says his union, which has 65,000 members, is actively organizing in the health care sector to improve working conditions for frontline staff.
"Workers are joining BCGEU because we're leading the way in addressing priority issues like fairness, job security, health and safety, fair wages, and benefits," he says.
