IBEW serves City of New Westminster with strike notice

New Westminster – The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 213 (IBEW) served the City of New Westminster with strike notice yesterday. While this notice would have permitted the Union to stop work as early as Sunday, September 19th, the BC Labour Relations Board has received direction from the provincial Ministry of Labour to work with the City and IBEW to designate essential services. Any work stoppage will be delayed until the essential services designation has been agreed upon.

Employees represented by IBEW maintain the electrical distribution system which supplies electrical power to customers in the City of New Westminster. The Union and the City have been in negotiations for three months towards a new contract for 12 employees with the City of New Westminster Electric Utility.

The City has made an offer of settlement to the IBEW which it believes is fair and reflects the realities of the current economic climate. It is important that the City continue to increase the efficiency of the utility while managing costs in a responsible manner to meet the needs of 30,000 residential and commercial customers.

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Contact:
Blair Fryer
Communications Manager
604-527-4688 or bfryer@newwestcity.ca