Brink’s guards set to strike

Financial institutions, retail outlets in Kelowna face disruption in service unless deal was reached at last minute Wednesday

Security guards for Brink’s Canada were poised to go on strike in Kelowna last night to back their contract demands.

The union that represents the guards says key unresolved issues are guard safety, guaranteed hours, higher wages, overtime pay and benefits.

“It is our hope that a deal can still be reached to avoid inconvenience to business and the public, but the safety of our members isn’t negotiable,” Gavin McGarrigle of Unifor BC said in a release.

For its part, Brink’s says the armoured car business has been negatively affected by a rise in the use of electronic rather than cash payments.

“We wish the circumstances were different, but we are in a precarious industry with many traditional business lines in decline,” the company said in a statement.

“A work disruption may have an irreversible effect on Brink’s Canada’s operations across the country and on the jobs those operations support,” Brink’s said.

If a last-minute settlement was not reached, pickets will be up this morning at Brink’s Kelowna office, at 107-1516 Keehn Rd.

There are more than 1,000 unionized Brink’s workers in B.C. and Ontario, the two jurisdictions that would be affected by a strike. They deliver financial services to thousands of institutions, ATMs and retail outlets.