After rejecting a contract offer from their employer, 16 North Shore Winter Club employees have been locked out from the club.
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 389 who maintain the ice and club building voted 11-2 to reject the contract offer on April 27. The other members did not show up for the vote.
The employees stayed on the job until being locked out Friday. They are now picketing and calling on club members to stay off the rink for their own safety.
With the pool, were talking about chlorine. Weve got refrigeration equipment on the curling rink and ice rink. Were talking about ammonia and things, and it can have some pretty significant consequences if theres an accident, said John Strohmaier, CUPE national representative.
The employees have been without a contract since June of 2012.
At issue in the labour dispute is the scheduling of shifts and a change in the employees benefits. The club would like to change the hours of work from the existing four 10-hour shifts, which allows the employees to have additional part-time jobs, to five eight-hours shifts, Strohmaier said.
The clubs management is also pushing to create one universal benefits package for the entire staff of 55. Non-union employees benefits packages are about 20 per cent smaller than the union ones, Strohmaier said.
The club and its services will remain open during the dispute according to David Long, general manager of the club.
Management will take over the ice equipment and maintenance in the meantime, which Long told the North Shore News would be safe.
Ill leave that up to the B.C. Safety Authority to answer that question. I wouldnt be going through this process if I didnt feel it was possible, he said.
