Common Sense Prevails
Lake City Casino accepted the invitation of the BCGEU to meet to discuss the employer's implementation of a new work schedule in response to anticipated staffing reductions. Senior management of Lake City Casinos including five casino managers, the chief stewards from each location, the Local Chairs as well as Union staff all attended the meeting held on Tuesday, February 17th.
At the meeting, the Union provided frank feedback on the actions of the employer to date, its impacts on our members and examples of where these actions were in breach of the collective agreement. The parties had a respectful discussion and, to the credit of the employer, they agreed to suspend the process underway and map out a new approach to implementing the upcoming schedule reductions in full cooperation with the Union's team.
The parties agreed to 4 core principles which would guide this process moving forward:
- Provide consistent communications to all sites to ensure common understanding;
- Canvass each employee to ensure they are made fully aware of the options available;
- Current shift packages shall not be increased as a result of this process;
- Aim for an implementation date of March 1, 2009
In addition to signing off on the above principles, the parties agreed that employees will be able to select shifts by seniority, based on the existing shift package, and maintaining their current days off. The agreement also includes a series of options for workers who experience a reduction in shifts under the above process.
Another significant outcome was the employer's agreement to maintain benefits for involuntary reductions below the minimum of 24 hours per week.
No comments:
Post a Comment