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FRIDAY, May 29, 2015
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Volume 9 Issue 47
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SHARLENE PATTERSPON PHOTOGRAPHY / THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
TERRACE - Paul Levesque with Rye and Max competed May 23 at the Thornhill Community Grounds in the first of a planned annual heavy horse pull competition. The sponsoring body was the Back Country Horsemen of BC Skeena-Stikine Chapter in conjunction with the Kitimat-Stikine regional district and community grounds user groups.
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Binding arbitration suggested for Kitimat By Cecile Favron
THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
KITIMAT - There is still no deal in the three-month District of Kitimat workers’ strike that has left Kitimat at a standstill. The District of Kitimat has proposed binding arbitration as the third round of mediation between Unifor 2300 and the district failed to reach a deal by the afternoon of May 23. Negotiations had to be wrapped-up by that time because the mediator was scheduled to fly out of town. The latest three-day round was the last instalment of nine days of mediated discussion between the union and the District that have only aggravated tensions between them. In the last minutes of the May 23 meeting, the union’s Bargain-
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ing Committee outlined their “Bedrock Position.” They stated that this final Offer to Settle was “the bare minimum that will improve our working lives.” The District was unable to respond to the proposal slated just five minutes before the mediator’s departure. In a subsequent press release, the district proposed binding arbitration – a process that would see a mediator draw-up a binding deal after listening to both parties. “Enough is enough, we are willing to put everything on the table,” said Mayor Phil Germuth of the proposal. As of early last week, the union had still not commented on whether or not they are considering the proposal and only saying in a press release on May 26th that they are close to a deal.
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Both sides claim to have made significant compromises over the mediation process and blame the other party for the stalemate. Germuth maintains that the district’s offer is fair and, in a press release on May 25, states that “this dispute is ultimately about who is going to run the District of Kitimat.” The union maintains issues around safety and harassment and the extent of contracted-out work are not being properly addressed by the district’s proposals. They also have concerns about signing an agreement that does not guarantee a minimum number of full-time jobs nor assigns wage increases based on the level of new industry in Kitimat. Meanwhile, the district maintains that its proposed 2.5
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per cent wage increase in each of the next three years and new full-time jobs in leisure services are generous. They also feel that their current policy on safety and harassment is adequate. The heated negotiations have devolved into shouting in some cases and strikers have picketed Kitimat council meetings. The district called in the efforts of a third-party negotiator to handle the city’s side after the district felt that bargaining sessions were becoming too abusive to staff. Details of the last two months’ negotiations cannot be released as they are bound by a confidentiality agreement. The strike has greatly affected Kitimat recreational services. Events such as hockey tournaments and next month’s Bull-oRama have been cancelled.
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