VANCOUVER – Following CUPE 8911 and E-Comm 9-1-1 reaching impasse earlier this week, we welcome the news that the Labour Minister has appointed special mediator Vince Ready to assist the parties in resolving this round of collective bargaining.
The union, which represents more than 700 emergency communications professionals, is looking forward to working with Ready, who has extensive knowledge and experience dealing with complex contract negotiations.
“We want to thank the government for recognizing the urgency of this situation and its assistance in appointing the special mediator and we are ready to move forward with this process,” says CUPE 8911 President Donald Grant.
Under the terms of the agreement, the union and the employer will work with Ready for up to 10 days. At this time the union will not be proceeding with the planned job action.
CUPE 8911 members took a strike vote last month, with 95 per cent voting in favour of strike action. The union issued strike notice yesterday (June 5).
CUPE 8911, the Emergency Communications Professionals of BC, represents more than seven hundred 9-1-1 operators, call takers, dispatchers, IT, and support professionals employed by E-Comm. With worksites in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Saanich, members provide 99% of the initial 9-1-1 call answer for the province, and answer, triage, dispatch and update emergency calls for 33 police agencies and 40 fire departments across the province.
