The city of Coquitlam will ask Metro Vancouver to stick with its current labour relations board (LRB) - or, at least, create an alternate version - as it heads into bargaining with civic employees next year.
Deputy city manager John Dumont told The Tri-City News this week the city will respond "shortly" to Metro's request for municipalities' opinions on how it should proceed with the LRB, which as of Jan. 1, 2012, will have two fewer members.
Vancouver and Burnaby have served notice they want out of the LRB at the end of 2011 while Delta is set to leave in May 2012, joining Richmond, which pulled out in 2002, and Port Coquitlam, which hasn't been an LRB member since 1982 (Surrey has never participated).
Last month, the Metro Vancouver board asked its member municipalities to respond by Nov. 18 to a new interim bylaw that would allow basic functions of the board to continue for another year.
Currently chaired by Port Moody Coun. Karen Rockwell, whose job wraps up in a week as she did not run for re-election, the LRB negotiates more than 60 collective agreements covering about 15,000 workers on behalf of 35 employers in the region. It was set up more than 40 years ago to provide a united front for Metro municipalities to negotiate common pay and benefit packages for civic workers while keeping bargaining costs down.
But lately, its meetings have been suspended, with municipal officials questioning the need to take part and wondering whether the LRB has the authority to ratify or reject members' collective agreements and compensation schemes.
The topic will be raised today (Friday) by Metro Vancouver chief administrative officer Johnny Carline at the regular Metro board meeting.
"Our position," Dumont said Wednesday, "is the same as it has always been. We're open to working with the [LRB] model that's there now or coming up with a new model.... There needs to be more discussion on the matter."
Malcolm Graham, Metro's manager of labour relations, said whatever the process, the LRB will start bargaining with the unions in January as many civic contracts are up Dec. 31.
Still, he noted, a five-year settlement - like the one about to expire in Coquitlam - likely won't happen this time. "My view is that five years is way too long," Graham said. "You can't see, just in terms of economics, past a year or two, so there's no point going for a long-term contract."
In Coquitlam, collective agreements end next month for CUPE locals 386 (civic workers) and 561 (library workers) while bargaining is currently in process for the firefighters' union, whose contracted expired in 2009.
In Port Moody, collective agreements are up Dec. 31 for CUPE Local 825 (civic workers); notices to bargain have been received, but not yet started, for PoMo firefighters and police officers, whose contracts ended in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
The issue of unionized workers' pay was raised this month at Coquitlam all-candidates' meetings, with many incumbents and challengers vowing to take a "hard line" against rising wages at city hall.
A request for comment from Rockwell, CUPE 386 president Ken Landgraff, the city of Port Moody and Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart were not immediately returned.
Meanwhile, PoCo has identified its bargaining committee and is set to begin negotiations with IAFF Fire Fighters' Local 1941, whose contract ended in 2009, and CUPE Local 498 (civic workers), whose contract expires on Dec. 31. "As per the collective agreements, we are waiting for the unions to give us written notice to commence bargaining. They can do so four months prior to expiry of the collective agreement," PoCo's communications manager Pardeep Purewal said.
