LifeLabs in B.C. facing possible strike action
The B.C. Government Service Employees' Union, which represents some of LifeLabs' front-line workers, has served strike notice. Job action could begin as early as Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.
Job action could begin as early as Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.
“It is possible that appointments that were made previously could not be honoured if those sites are behind picket lines,” explained BCGEU president Stephanie Smith on Wednesday
“So there are some non-unionized LifeLabs. Those of course will remain open during the job action. As well, we have negotiated essential service levels with the employer,” she explained.
LifeLabs said it’s doing all it can to minimize disruptions and that job action won’t start until after the weekend.
“Most LifeLabs patient service centres will remain open. However, some patient service centres will be closed on a rotating basis as a result of the job action starting on Monday,” reads a statement from the company.
“Patients with appointments that need to be rescheduled will be notified directly by LifeLabs.”
Health Minister Adrian Dix said his ministry is preparing "to ensure that patients are protected" and is "very hopeful the collective bargaining process will lead to an agreement."
The union said one of the main issues is wages.
“Our members at LifeLabs earn on average between 4.5 per cent to 13.5 per cent less than workers doing exactly the same jobs in hospital labs and we want to see that gap addressed,” said Smith.
LifeLabs patient service centres are already busy and there are concerns job action will only make things worse.
“I know a lot of our patients have been reporting (waiting) multiple weeks to get an appointment at LifeLabs and having to wait hours in line just to get routine blood work done,” said Laura Todd, who works as an administrator in a Victoria-area doctor’s office.
Poor wages and working conditions have "created a staffing crisis at LifeLabs," according to an online post from the union.
"Staffing shortages are so bad that they had to suddenly shut down at least two patient service centres in Greater Victoria," said the BCGEU statement.
LifeLabs is responsible for the majority of outpatient lab work done across B.C.
The BCGEU said it has been engaged in six months of bargaining and several rounds of mediation.
LifeLabs advises patients to visit its website for more details on job action.
The union also said it will post information on which centres are impacted by job action online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.