The BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) and LifeLabs employees held a solidarity rally on Thursday as contract talks continue.
Some employees have been without a contract for over a year, with bargaining continuing to be a slow process, especially after the company was bought by an American company during negotiations last summer.
Even with a smaller presence in Prince George, BCGEU and LifeLabs Bargaining Committee Chair Mandy De Fields said the rally was still a success.
“Not all our workers in the area are unionized, but our medical laboratory technologists that work there are, and so we haven’t had a great deal of visibility in the community, so we thought we’d come up, and create that visibility and awareness so that the public knows what’s going on.”
De Fields added the public, along with members with other unions joined the rally to show support.
One of the biggest issues they’re dealing with currently is wages, and keeping up with the work and economic climate.
She said technologists are significantly behind those in hospitals doing the same work, anywhere from 12.5 to 16.5 per cent.
The second issue is working conditions, such as arbitrary productivity expectations, where in order to meet them, staff are skipping meal and washroom breaks.
De Fields said because of their workloads and working conditions, she’s hearing from members that they are rapidly becoming patients themselves.
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