Labour

Work resumed at the construction site of the new Cowichan District Hospital on Dec. 13 after workers took down their blockade that had stopped work since Dec. 2. All that remained was a pile of wood that the protesters had used to keep warm during the blockade. (Robert Barron/Citizen)

Indigenous blockade lifted at $1.45-billion B.C. hospital project — for now

Still no resolution to dispute over union rules governing Cowichan Valley construction

Work resumed at the construction site of the new Cowichan District Hospital on Dec. 13 after workers took down their blockade that had stopped work since Dec. 2. All that remained was a pile of wood that the protesters had used to keep warm during the blockade. (Robert Barron/Citizen)
Parliament buildings in Ottawa. (Black Press file photo)

Return to in-person work a contentious issue among federal public servants

Workers await announcement this week requiring a certain number of work days in person

Parliament buildings in Ottawa. (Black Press file photo)
FILE- Senior citizens make their way down a street in Peterborough, Ont. on Monday May 7, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

‘It is your new normal’: Canada’s aging work force root of national labour shortage

Canada’s labour force growth rate has been trending downward since 2000, and is intensifying

FILE- Senior citizens make their way down a street in Peterborough, Ont. on Monday May 7, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Jon Coleman (right) and other members of the Cowichan Tribes-owned Khowutzun Development Corporation are blocking work at the site of the new Cowichan District Hospital on Bell McKinnon Road over union issues. (Robert Barron/Citizen)

First Nation pickets continue to block construction of new B.C. hospital

Talks continue after Cowichan Tribes-owned company prevented from doing work over union issues

Jon Coleman (right) and other members of the Cowichan Tribes-owned Khowutzun Development Corporation are blocking work at the site of the new Cowichan District Hospital on Bell McKinnon Road over union issues. (Robert Barron/Citizen)
New BC Federation of Labour president Sussanne Skidmore (right) and secretary-treasurer Singh Kailley were elected on Nov. 24, 2022. (Credit: BC Federation of Labour/Facebook)

The new faces of B.C.’s labour movement

BC Federation of Labour pushing for more unions, better protections under new president

  • Dec 5, 2022
New BC Federation of Labour president Sussanne Skidmore (right) and secretary-treasurer Singh Kailley were elected on Nov. 24, 2022. (Credit: BC Federation of Labour/Facebook)
Jon Coleman (right) and other members of the Cowichan Tribes-owned Khowutzun Development Corporation are blocking work at the site of the new Cowichan District Hospital on Bell McKinnon Road over union issues. (Robert Barron/Citizen)

First Nations picket halts work at $887 million B.C. hospital over union rules

‘This is Cowichan Tribes territory and we don’t need to be in any unions to work in our own backyard’

Jon Coleman (right) and other members of the Cowichan Tribes-owned Khowutzun Development Corporation are blocking work at the site of the new Cowichan District Hospital on Bell McKinnon Road over union issues. (Robert Barron/Citizen)
Students make their way to the first day of school at Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver, Monday, Sept. 22, 2014. British Columbia’s public school teachers have ratified a new three-year contract. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C. teachers strongly approve three-year contract with pay boost, added benefits

British Columbia’s public school teachers have ratified a new three-year contract. Nearly…

Students make their way to the first day of school at Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver, Monday, Sept. 22, 2014. British Columbia’s public school teachers have ratified a new three-year contract. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
BCGEU members in the cannabis and liquor distribution industry rallied outside Finance Minister Selina Robinson on April 14, 2021. (LDB Anonymous/Twitter)

Wage protection against inflation part of BCGEU’s three-year collective agreement

53.4 per cent of eligible members who cast ballots voted to ratify the deal

BCGEU members in the cannabis and liquor distribution industry rallied outside Finance Minister Selina Robinson on April 14, 2021. (LDB Anonymous/Twitter)
British Columbia’s provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Friday July 3, 2020. The bargaining unit representing care aides, lab assistants and cleaning staff has reached a new labour agreement with health employers in B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

B.C. care aides, lab assistants, health facility cleaners reach new labour deal

Hospital Employees’ Union represents about 93 per cent of the workers covered by the agreement

British Columbia’s provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Friday July 3, 2020. The bargaining unit representing care aides, lab assistants and cleaning staff has reached a new labour agreement with health employers in B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Ships are loaded with coal at Westshore Terminals in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday February 19, 2014, as seen from a National Aerial Surveillance Program flight. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Westshore Terminals reaches tentative deal with union, work resumes at terminal

Terms of the six-year agreement with Local 502 were not immediately available

Ships are loaded with coal at Westshore Terminals in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday February 19, 2014, as seen from a National Aerial Surveillance Program flight. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Seaspan B.C. tugboat operations ground to a halt after unionized marine workers launched job action at noon on Thursday (Aug. 25). (Seaspan photo)

How 165 workers parked tugboats and froze a B.C. shipyard

Other unions drawn into dispute between Seaspan, tugboat staff at North Vancouver shipyard, drydock

  • Oct 7, 2022
Seaspan B.C. tugboat operations ground to a halt after unionized marine workers launched job action at noon on Thursday (Aug. 25). (Seaspan photo)
The trauma bay is photographed during simulation training at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto on Tuesday, August 13, 2019. In B.C. Specialists ranging from cardiologists, pediatricians and orthopedic surgeons are pushing the British Columbia government to alleviate backlogs that have exacerbated wait times. It comes as the head of the Canadian Medical Association says it's time for innovative solutions to address the same problem across the country.THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

Specialists join forces to push B.C. for same recognition as family doctors

‘Patients are getting sicker and dying on our wait-lists’

The trauma bay is photographed during simulation training at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto on Tuesday, August 13, 2019. In B.C. Specialists ranging from cardiologists, pediatricians and orthopedic surgeons are pushing the British Columbia government to alleviate backlogs that have exacerbated wait times. It comes as the head of the Canadian Medical Association says it's time for innovative solutions to address the same problem across the country.THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
Construction crews work on a highway on Vancouver Island. (Black Press file photo)

QUIZ: In honour of workers

How much do you know about Labour Day and work culture?

Construction crews work on a highway on Vancouver Island. (Black Press file photo)
A firefighter returns to a truck after crews extinguished a 3-alarm fire at an apartment building in Burnaby, B.C., on Tuesday May 27, 2014. The union that represents E-Comm 911 emergency service dispatchers in British Columbia is calling for the agency to extend temporary compensation and psychological supports amid a “dire” staffing shortage.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Union for B.C. 911 dispatchers calls for extended supports amid staff shortage

Worker retention remains a major problem because of low wages and burnout

A firefighter returns to a truck after crews extinguished a 3-alarm fire at an apartment building in Burnaby, B.C., on Tuesday May 27, 2014. The union that represents E-Comm 911 emergency service dispatchers in British Columbia is calling for the agency to extend temporary compensation and psychological supports amid a “dire” staffing shortage.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
People stand on decks at the bow of the Celebrity Cruises vessel Celebrity Eclipse as it leaves port in Vancouver for a trip to Alaska, on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Cruise ship sails for Alaska after overnight delay in Vancouver due to tugboat strike

Ship to skip its trip to Icy Strait in Alaska, but will stick to the rest of its weeklong itinerary

People stand on decks at the bow of the Celebrity Cruises vessel Celebrity Eclipse as it leaves port in Vancouver for a trip to Alaska, on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
People stand on decks at the bow of the Celebrity Cruises vessel Celebrity Eclipse as it leaves port in Vancouver for a trip to Alaska, on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Cruise ship stuck in Vancouver by tugboat strike may sail today, passengers are told

Social media accounts flooded with complaints from people saying they are trapped aboard

People stand on decks at the bow of the Celebrity Cruises vessel Celebrity Eclipse as it leaves port in Vancouver for a trip to Alaska, on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Selina Robinson is photographed during a press conference while at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. Contract talks have resumed between the B.C. government and the province’s largest public-sector union as members of other unions line up to demand wage increases and improved benefits.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Selina Robinson is photographed during a press conference while at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. Contract talks have resumed between the B.C. government and the province’s largest public-sector union as members of other unions line up to demand wage increases and improved benefits.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Members of the British Columbia General Employees’ Union picket outside a B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch facility, in Delta, B.C., on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. hospitality, tourism and liquor groups seek quick resolution to BCGEU job action

B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association says industry can’t afford job action continuing

Members of the British Columbia General Employees’ Union picket outside a B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch facility, in Delta, B.C., on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Passengers arrive at a Via Rail kiosk at Central Station in Montreal, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Strike deadline for Via Rail workers extended again as Unifor continues negotiations

Unifor says in a statement on social media that the strike deadline is now 6 p.m. eastern Monday

Passengers arrive at a Via Rail kiosk at Central Station in Montreal, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
A Via Rail employee stands beside the entrance to a new train on display at the train station in Ottawa, Tuesday, November 30, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Via Rail receives 72-hour strike notice from Unifor, risk of service suspension

Job action could commence Monday across Canada if deal cannot be reached with 2,400 workers

A Via Rail employee stands beside the entrance to a new train on display at the train station in Ottawa, Tuesday, November 30, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld