Improving wages and benefits as well as addressing forced overtime are among the issues leading to LifeLabs workers walking off their job site in Nanaimo.
The rotating strike is in its eighth week in B.C., and made its way to Nanaimo on Friday, April 11. About 50 people work at six LifeLabs locations throughout the city.
According to the B.C. General Employees' Union, labs in the city face chronic under-staffing, resulting in workers "skipping meal and washroom breaks just to keep up with the workload."
“LifeLabs workers receive 4-16 per cent below what others in their industry get paid and they are struggling to make ends meet,” said Paul Finch, union president, in a press release. “The union is seeking wage increases that close the gap with those in the public sector doing the same work, solutions to short-staffing and workload issues, and improvements to health and safety benefits.”
On Friday, Mandy De Fields, union bargaining committee chairperson for this round of negotiations, was in Nanaimo. She said workers are facing an "unbelievable amount of forced overtime," which she said is resulting in workers getting sick.
"We've been at the bargaining table in excess of a year without a contract for in excess of a year. We've reached an impasse some time ago and we've been working at administering our strike for the last two months," De Fields said, adding that a mediation process is slated to begin Tuesday, April 15.
One of the factors leading to the workload, she said, is the salary, which she believes isn't incentivizing people to work for the company. LifeLabs was acquired by U.S.-based Quest Diagnostics in 2024.
"People like myself, as a medical laboratory technologist, I'm 12.5 per cent behind what my counterparts in the public hospital system would make doing the same work," she said. "That prevents us from retaining a lot of employees, too, because they just leave for better paying jobs. So we lose that asset knowledge and skill level as well."
In a statement, LifeLabs said it respects the negotiation process and employees’ right to pursue their interests.
"We would like to continue to negotiate and work with the union to reach an agreement that is mutually acceptable and reflects the value our employees bring to their roles each day," the company stated.
Customers can find which LifeLabs locations are open at http://locations.lifelabs.com.
