by LAURA KEIL
The Village of McBride and the union representing seven employees have set another date to try to reach a contract.
The parties will sit down on March 3rd and 4th. Their first mediated meeting was Wednesday Feb 17th but they were not able to reach an agreement, according to CLAC, the union that represents the employees.
In a statement, CLAC says both parties have agreed to extend the timeline. The statement says the BC Labour Relations Board has set the new date in order to work through essential services levels and to deal with outstanding issues.
The mediation comes on the heels of a positive strike vote on Feb 4th. Employees of the Village of McBride and the McBride Community Forest who are part of CLAC Local 501 voted strongly in favour of a strike, CLAC says.
Employees have not yet begun strike action. The positive vote allows the union to pursue mediation through the BC Labour Relations Board. If the parties are not able to finalize an agreement, the mediator then makes a recommendation which could include strike action.
