KELOWNA, B.C. May 10, 2013: FortisBC has received 72 hour strike notice from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, (IBEW) local 213.
There is no job action taking place at this time and all FortisBC services are operating as usual. FortisBC and the IBEW 213 have agreed on an essential services order that was issued by the BC Labour Relations Board.
Essential services are those the Labour Relations Board considers necessary or essential to prevent immediate and serious danger to the health, safety or welfare of the residents of British Columbia.
FortisBC has been in bargaining since early January 2013, and did present an offer to the IBEW 213 that provided market-competitive general wage increases. FortisBC is not proposing concessions to employee wages, benefits or pensions.
As always, FortisBC’s main focus is on the ongoing safety of its operations and the public, while ensuring a reliable supply of electricity to our customers and has a contingency plan in place to deal with various forms of job action.
The current contract with the IBEW expired January 31, 2013.
The IBEW 213 represents approximately 225 FortisBC employees working primarily in electric generation, transmission, and distribution occupations such as power line technicians, electricians, and system power dispatchers.