Bargaining
ICBC – Bargaining Update #13
January 30, 2020
To: MoveUP members at ICBC
The parties spent 3 days at the bargaining table this month mostly discussing our multiple monetary proposals.
Much of our time was spent discussing Article 19 Leave of Absence, which currently includes Bereavement Leave, Special Leave, and Parental Leave Supplemental Employee Benefits, (SEB Plan). In an effort to modernize the Article we are trying to add new language. For example, we want to add Domestic Violence Leave, Gender Transition Leave, and given ICBC’s partnership with BC Transplant, Organ Donor Leave.
We presented an analysis of the survey results to ICBC’s bargaining committee. The most significant issue facing our members, regardless of work location, age, years of service or even pay band was exhaustion (mental, physical and psychological). We have attached the power point presentation here that was given to ICBC’s bargaining committee. There is no question in our minds that staff at ICBC are running on empty right now, based on these results. And we are sure you will agree that exhaustion best describes what you have been feeling for a long time. We were very clear in our report to ICBC’s bargaining committee. Most specifically, when your employer constantly requires the staff to work at or over 100% capacity every single day:
- absenteeism is bound to go up as staff become worn down physically, mentally and psychologically;
- there is no additional capacity within the staff to handle more work that results from extreme weather events;
- staff are more likely to cut corners or miss things in an effort to try and keep up to a crushing work load;
- and it is fiscally irresponsible to the citizens of BC who ultimately suffer because of the demands loaded on the shoulders of the staff.
Workload remains our priority at the bargaining table and away from the table. The staff need to see some concrete results from the employer on how they plan to deal with your crushing work load. We will be meeting with them in February, to discuss this in greater detail.
With respect to bargaining, we will be returning to the bargaining table in March to continue discussions on monetary proposals.
In solidarity,
Your Bargaining Committee:
Kevin Smyth, Senior Union Representative
Annette Toth, Vice-President
Colin Clark, Executive Board Member
Brenda Chu, Executive Board Member
Bryan Finstad, Executive Board Member
Melissa Maher, Executive Board Member
Gunter Seifert, Executive Board Member