THE VGICE

OF NORTH AND W

Office, Editorial 985-2131

ements at

MONEY
MATTERS

Mike Grenby answers
questions from readers.

ae ypeueezet

fhe)

apt

wh

u

FOOT

SPECIALIST

potlidh

Dancing under the stars
with NV’s Trudi Forrest

Distribution 986-1337 25¢

no

Cindy Goodman

UNIONIZED BC Rail employees, numbering 1,600 throughout the province, launched a full-scale strike on Monday night to back contract
demands. At BC Rati’s main station in North Vancouver, Mike Bartol (left), Mark Sandhi, Max Grifal, Rajhbir Parmar and Norm Pederson

FULL-SCALE strike action
shut down BC Rail opera-

tions on Monday night.

The Council of Trade Unions
(CTU) called for the action to
back contract demands. The CTU
represents seven unions and ap-
proximately 1,600 workers at BC
Rail. ;

Passengers stranded in
Squamish were bused to the BC
Rail main station in North Van-
couver after the strike was called
at 6 p.m., said BC Rail
spokesman Barrie Wall. —

“There were incidents of pickets

_ spitting on passengers’ cars which.

is totally uncalled for,” said Wall.

Tales

"were some of the first workers on picket duty.

~ BC Rail labor dispute costing

By Anna Marie D’Angelo
News Reporter

He said the incidents occurred
at the North Vancouver station at
about 10 p.m. on Monday. .

“That is not typical of our
union people. There were a couple
of rowdies,’’ said Wall.

The unions have been without a
contract since Jan. }. :

The CTU and BC Rail have
been bargaining continually since
July 8. In June, the CTU con-
ducted rotating strikes in North
Vancouver and Prince George.

The unions have been in a legal

strike position since June 19.

Wage proposals were not far
apart when the CTU and BC Rail
broke off negotiations two days
ago.

The CTU had asked for a 30-
month contract with a 2.05% in-
crease in the first year, 2.2% and
cost of living allowance in the se-
cond year and 1.1% and cost of
living allowance in the last six
months of an agreement.

BC Rail had proposed a 42-
month contract with 2.0% in-
creases for the first three years
and 1% for the last six months.

“We gave them our bottom,
bottom line. The millions the
railway makes and they can’t af-

ford a 6.05% increase?’’ said
CTU vice-chairman Clyde
Mulhall.

Mulhali said the union had
changed its demands from an
18-month contract to a 30-month
contract. He said wage proposals
had been lowered from 7% and
4% a year to 2.2% in the con-
tract.

He said the company could af-
ford the wage increase because it
made about $50 million annually
in profits during the last four
years,

Muthall noted BC Rail president
Paul McElligott was paid $236,000
annually and had received a
$36,000 bonus for. 1992,

_ REACHING EVERY DOOR ON THE NORTH SHORE

Crown corp. $800,000 daily in lost revenues

Said Mulhall, “If they can af-
ford to give the president an in-
centive bonus, of course, they can
afford to pay us 0.05% and the

rest.”
Wall said the railway will lose

about $800,000 a day during the
strike. :

The current wage rates for
unionized BC Rail workers: range
from $14.60 per hour to $27.55
per hour.

*‘Whenever they are ready to
come to the table, so are we. The
ball is in their park,’”’ added
Mulhall. .

A 25-day strike closed BC Rail
operations in 1990.