USW Declares Overtime Ban at Northern B.C. Sawmills

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1-2017 issued new circular, asking its workers at 13 sawmills in the Northern B.C. region not to work overtime. The move is considered as the first step in job action following the issuance of 72 hours strike notice last week, which has left the union with an option to go on strike effective 8.00 AM last Saturday.

Meantime, media reports indicate that the negotiations between the union and the Council of Northern Interior Forestry Industry Relations (CONIFER) have come to a deadlock over the new contract. The labor union and CONIFER representatives had conducted negotiations for five continuous days last week.

The proposal put forward by CONIFER offers annual wage increase ranging from 0.5% to 1.5% over a period of five years. Further, it sticks to earlier concession demands including extended probationary periods, lower starting wages and increased employees’ cost for health and welfare benefits. The proposals were rejected by the union officials, who called them well short of other recent settlements in the forestry industry.

Meantime, all eyes are now on the bargaining talks for southern Interior sawmills, which is slated to resume today in Kelowna. The details of the offer package by the Interior Forest Labour Relations Association (IFLRA) are not known. However, a package similar to that offered by CONIFER may force the union to go ahead with a strike vote, said USW officials.