Unionized workers at UNBC will carry a strong strike mandate into contract negotiations this fall, but it's not the university they're fighting.
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3799 president Caroline Sewell said the provincial government's rules regarding public sector contracts are the heart of the dispute, which has been dragging on for two years.
"We're hoping that we can get back to the table and work with our employer," Sewell said. "What we're really hoping is to see something larger happen within the provincial government sector, realizing they have to address the large vacancies with public sector funding."
Local 3799 is the only union at the university and represents more than 300 non-faculty teaching staff, maintenance and facilities workers, lab assistants and administrative assistants and officers.
The union announced the results of its strike vote on Tuesday, with 91 per cent of the votes cast in favour of a strike mandate. Sewell said her union is looking to form a united front with other CUPE locals at BC universities as they look to take on the provincial "net zero" strategy ,which has seen members of their union have their wages frozen for two years. The wage freeze has caused union members to lose 7.9 per cent of their spending power, according to Sewell.
She said the provincial bargaining rules are tying the hands of university management and making this one of the more difficult negotiations the union has faced.
Unlike the provincial teachers union, which recently agreed to a two-year contract, Sewell said her union is hoping for a longer deal in the range of three to four years.
The two sides aren't expected to return to the negotiating table until mid-September, but UNBC vice-president of external relations Rob van Adrichem said he's still optimistic a deal can be reached without workers walking off the job.
"I would say that people who work here are very passionate and very happy to be working at UNBC, so I think that's an overriding element in their negotiations with the university," he said.
Sewell concurred and reiterated that it's not university management that is holding up the process.
"It's really not related to our employer," she said. "We have quite a good working relationship with our employer here at UNBC. We're really happy."
