(The CBC British Columbia distributed the following article on June 26.)
VANCOUVER — B.C. Rail employees are putting forward a collective agreement proposal they say will help save the beleagured railway.
They’re asking the government to consider zero wage increases over the next three years and to eliminate an employee bonus plan.
The Council of Trade Unions on B.C. Rail Chair Bob Sharpe says his members are willing to take a financial hit if it helps keep B.C. Rail in public hands.
“We have been out there meeting with them and there’s a great concern,” said Sharpe. “If we don’t do something, all indications that there’s over 1,200 of us that will no longer be employed here, and that’s certainly a lot less acceptable to them than trying to work out something that keeps good jobs in this province.”
Sharpe says the proposed agreement could save B.C. Rail $10 million and could be combined with $140 million in projected earnings which could be put toward infrastructure and the return of passenger rail service.
Unions at B.C. Rail are warning that 1,223 management and union jobs could be lost if the Crown corporation is taken over by CN Rail.
CN is one of the companies looking at a possible takeover of the BCR, after the province announced a privatization plan in May.
An internal briefing note released by the unions predicts CN would save more than $70 million a year through job elimination.
The document indicates CN could chop jobs by getting rid of routes that don’t make money.
It also predicts that CN would shut down maintenance shops in Prince George, Squamish and North Vancouver — transferring the work to CN shops.