ICBC claims centre staff set for strike action

More than 1,500 unionized workers at 55 claims-related Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) locations will stage a one-day strike Sept. 18, the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 378 said yesterday.

“These are employees who have been without a contract for over two years,” said COPE 378 ICBC president David Black in a statement. “Their wages are falling behind while ICBC executives and business partners got massive salary increases and $1.2 billion of ICBC profits went into government revenues.”

In June members of COPE 378 voted 87% in favour of strike action, but a ruling by the province’s labour board determined they could not stage a full-scale walkout.

Nearly 1,200 workers will be on strike in the Lower Mainland, while the remaining 300 will be in communities throughout the rest of B.C. This newest job action is part of an escalating strategy aimed at getting ICBC back to the bargaining table, the union noted in a press release.