Negotiations between union, employer 'definitely not moving forward' in LifeLabs strike: BCGEU rep

Courtney Dickson · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 5:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

About six weeks aft workers went connected strike, negotiations between LifeLabs and the national that represents astir 1,200 of its workers aren't going well, according to a subordinate of the union's bargaining committee. 

Wendy Cummer, a aesculapian laboratory technologist successful Kamloops, B.C., and a B.C. General Employees Union (BCGEU) bargaining committee member said talks "are decidedly not moving guardant astatine this point."

"The sides are precise acold apart," she said. "We can't spell backmost to our members with an connection if it doesn't springiness them what they need."

The onslaught began connected Feb. 16, resulting successful rotating closures astatine locations crossed the state and, successful turn, forcing customers who request laboratory enactment to play a crippled of accidental erstwhile they caput to a LifeLabs location. 

BCGEU bargaining committee seat Mandy De Fields said negotiations for amended wages and changes to moving conditions began successful March 2024. 

"It's been a agelong haul," she said. 

The BCGEU represents astir 1,200 workers astatine LifeLabs crossed the province, the national said. 

Workers accidental they person been without a declaration since April 1, 2024. 

The BCGEU said LifeLabs workers are paid 4 to 16 per cent little than counterparts astatine hospitals and different companies. For example, De Fields said, laboratory assistants, the public-facing unit who assistance with specimen collection, commencement astatine $4/hr little than radical doing the aforesaid occupation successful the hospital. 

In Kamloops, Cummer said, this means LifeLabs is often short-staffed aft radical permission for amended paying jobs. 

"They request wage and moving conditions that let america to prosecute and clasp qualified people, not prosecute idiosyncratic and past suffer them successful a fewer months erstwhile they recognize the accent of moving abbreviated each the time."

The national said radical are skipping repast and washroom breaks and are moving forced overtime arsenic a result. 

In an emailed connection to CBC News, LifeLabs confirmed negotiations are ongoing but would not remark connected the presumption of those conversations. The institution did not reply questions astir the interaction to customers but alternatively pointed to their online "location finder" designed to fto radical cognize which locations are unfastened during the strike. 

Last summer, LifeLabs was purchased by Quest Diagnostics, an American company, for astir $1.35 cardinal Cdn. 

Cummer, who has worked astatine LifeLabs successful Kamloops for 33 years, said customers are besides feeling the consequences of staffing shortages with accrued hold times, lineups for walk-in appointments and agelong waits to get results. 

"We are an indispensable work successful British Columbia," she said.  "We are warring for ourselves and our patients."