The membership of the B.C.

Government Employees Union
- have voted overwhelmingly in

favour of going to a strike vote
rather than continuing negotia-
tions, BCGEU vice-president
George Heyman said in Terrace

last week. ‘‘In Smithers, Terrace

and Prince Rupert, over 40 per-

-eent of the membership turned

out to the meetings, and only
seven per cent of those thought
we should negotiate further
before taking a strike vote,”
Heyman said, ‘
At the Terrace meeting last
Wednesday night, the negotia-
ting committee member said he
was “asked many hard ques-
tions. Some members wondered

if we had done enough to try to
get an agreement. But the ma-
jority wanted to give a strong in-

dication of support for the goals —

they set in April and May —
they're determined to win decent
wages and job security.’

The strike vote will take place
from August 10 to 31, with the

local BCGEU office extending |

office hours to provide evening
balloting. The votes will be

counted September 2, after

which the union wants to go

back to the bargaining table. “I

don’t think we'll be bargaining
again before the vote, but cer-
tainly before any strike action is
taken,’’ Heyman told the Ter-
race Review..The union’s policy

is that a two-thirds. majority
must support a strike mandate
before that job action is taken.
’ The union is not satisfied with
the government’s latest job
security proposal, which would
offer another position or
severatice pay to an employce af-
fected by privatization. This is
less than the protection currently
offered by a- B.C. Supreme
Court decision, Heyman said,
and it is “‘cruel*’ for the govern-
ment to ask people to accept it.
_ Other issues include the use of
temporary office workers like

Kelly Services, ‘59-day’? tem--

porary employees, and personal

service contracts with self-

employed individuals or with

Terrace Review — Wednesday, August 10, 1988 15

Government employees support union bidto =
take strike vote, BCGEU vice-president sayS

companies, doing work formerly
done.by union members. “‘If the
government doesn’t want to pro-
vide a service, okay. It’s up to
the people of the province to say
they want that service done by
the government. But if it does
provide a service, the work
should be done by employees
who take an oath of loyalty to
the province, who are hired and
promoted on the basis of merit,
and who have rights to
benefits.”’ a

The government did withdaw
its controversial proposal to ex-

tend hours of work. The trade-.

off for the 35-hour work week
originally negotiated, Heyman
explained,” was that employees

work 10 or 12 hour days at

straight time and take time off in
slow periods, for example in the
seasonal work of highways

maintenance. This arrangement

avoids the expense of paying
government employees double
time or time and a half.
According to the local
BCGEU office, there are about
250 or 300 union members in
Terrace, working mainly in the
areas of forestry, highways,
health, social services and hous-
ing, and courts/corrections.
Bob Plecas, the chief
negotiator for the government,
was in town yesterday to talk
with Terrace non-union govern-
ment employees. ~

our children.

Announcing British Columbia's New

children. oe

if the well being of your children depends on

_ regular child support payments, you can now -

~~ register with a new program of the Ministry

of Attorney General to ensure you receive ae
those payments on time. After all, we owe itto 2

e ey ey Sete:
Starting now well do all we can toensure
your children receive their support payments...
Simply call either of the toll free numbers listed:
below, or pick up a filing kit at any court house, ©
government agent or legal aid office. © et

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'. Lower Mainland residentscall

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1800-663 9666

,

| A | | |
“ Bl / Ministry of AttorneyGeneral (ll aalteie
 , Honourable Bud Smith, Attorney General fe