Jail guards set to strike

Kelowna jail guards issued 72-hour strike notice early Tuesday morning and expect to go on strike at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Guards plan to begin picketing outside the Kelowna RCMP detachment starting at 6 a.m. Friday.

In October, all 17 unionized jail guards at the Kelowna RCMP detachment voted in favour of strike action after talks with the Commissionaires and the City of Kelowna broke down.

The City of Kelowna has been contracting out jail-guard services to Commissionaires BC for about 15 years, said Lee Mossman, president of CUPE Local 338.

Jail guards in Kelowna currently earn $16.50 an hour, $5 to $6 less an hour than other cities, including Penticton, making it difficult to recruit and retain employees, he said.

The union is fighting for a $2-an-hour wage increase for the guards.

“Jail guards in Kelowna work in a high-stress environment and face physical violence and verbal abuse daily,” said CUPE national representative and lead negotiator Harry Nott.

Nott said he has no guess as to how long the strike could last.

“Our members are very committed to the work they do, and they realize that taking strike action will have a significant impact on the services,” he said. “However, at this point we feel this is our last option.”

Typically, there are four guards working the 12-hour morning shift and four guards working the 12-hour evening shift. Under an essential services order during the strike, two guards will work 12-hour morning shifts, two guards will work 12-hour evening shifts and one guard will work a six-hour evening shift.

After four days, that will increase to three guards for each 12-hour shift.

Commissionaires BC spokesperson Julie Powers said via email the company is “considering our legal options in relation to the strike notice at this time.”

“We continue to strongly believe that strike action is not in the best interests of any party involved in this matter,” she said.