BC’s labour community joins workers in calling on provincial government to fix loophole in Labour Code as union files legal complaint at BC Labour Relations Board against Tricom

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over 50 unionized janitors employed by GDI Integrated Facilities Services at the Canada Line are at risk of losing their jobs, health and dental benefits and other modest improvements recently won in negotiations in March.

Community and labour allies will be standing with the cleaners on Monday calling on BC’s government to commit to legislating successorship rights for workers in the BC Labour Code. 

WHAT: Justice for Janitors Solidarity Rally

WHEN: Monday, September 17, 2018 at 3:45 PM

WHERE: Vancouver City Centre Station (Granville & West Georgia intersection)

BACKGROUND

The Canada Line is owned by TransLink and InTransitBC but privately operated by ProTrans, a subsidiary of SNC Lavalin Group Inc. The transit system was built through the controversial public/private partnership (P3) and was in the spotlight over labour issues during its construction when highly-skilled temporary foreign workers were brought in and were paid as little as $4 per hour. These workers would later win their Human Rights complaint in 2008.

GDI has cleaned the Canada Line for the past eight years and consistently received good reviews from Protrans. Nevertheless, on August 20, GDI workers were given layoff notices informing them that they are losing their jobs as of September 17, 2018.  

Initially, Tricom, the company awarded the new contract, responded positively to applicants from the current workforce cleaning the Canada Line. However, after being contacted by the cleaner’s union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 2, Tricom declared it would not hire any SEIU members.

An Unfair Labour Practice complaint has been filed at the BC Labour Relations Board against Tricom alleging that the refusal to hire the experienced workers is an attempt to prevent the unionization of their workforce – a violation of the BC Labour Code. 

In the cleaning sector, contracts are awarded through a competitive bidding process. Property managers regularly award contracts to the lowest bidders to increase profit margins and cut costs for the building owners. For janitors this means lower wages, losing any improvements achieved with the previous contractor, and pressure to clean more space in less time.

The BC Labour Code does not provide any successorship provisions, so when cleaning contracts are awarded to a new company, existing employees are required to reapply for the same job with the new contractor while the new company has no obligation to hire them.

This competitive bidding process combined with out-of-date labour laws creates a loophole companies can exploit through contract flipping to circumvent collective bargaining agreements and consequently, erode working conditions.

The Service Employees International Union, Local 2 represents 16,000 workers across Canada including over 10,000 workers in the janitorial sector. The goals of SEIU’s Justice for Janitors campaign is to organize janitors across a city or market, so together, workers can raise standards in the cleaning sector and reverse the race to the bottom.

For more information, please visit www.justiceforjanitors.ca

Contact: Christine Bro 778-996-4008