B.C. Labour Relations Board appoints mediator in months-long contract dispute

VANCOUVER – The Labour Relations Board has appointed a mediator in an ongoing contract dispute between B.C.’s largest public-sector union and the government.

The B.C. Government Employees Union says Debbie Cameron will begin mediating between the two parties starting Tuesday.

Before joining the labour board as a mediator in 1994, Cameron helped the BC Nurses’ Union negotiate contracts.

Contract talks between the government and the union are currently deadlocked over several issues, including wages.

The government has offered a three per cent pay increase over two years, but the union is holding out for more, including a cost of living increase.

Both sides have been talking since January, but union members voted 82 per cent in favour of job action last month to back contract demands.