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B.C. government, BCGEU and BCRB reach new agreement

October 16, 2012, Victoria, B.C. – The government of
B.C., BC Road Builders & Heavy Construction Association and the B.C.
Government and Service Employees’ Union have reached agreements on continued
highway maintenance services through to 2018-19.

October 16, 2012, Victoria, B.C. – The government of
B.C., BC Road Builders & Heavy Construction Association and the B.C.
Government and Service Employees’ Union have reached agreements on continued
highway maintenance services through to 2018-19.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has
reached agreements with the BC Road Builders & Heavy Construction
Association (BCRB) to extend 27 of the 28 existing provincial service area
highway maintenance agreements for an additional five years, through to
2018-19.

The BCRB has reached labour agreements in all 27
service areas, 25 with the BCGEU, to help ensure labour certainty throughout
the term of the extensions. These labour agreements cover more than 2,000 workers
throughout B.C. and help provide certainty for the next seven years.

The BCGEU and Independent Operating Engineers have
ratified collective agreements that will help instil certainty for workers over
the next seven years. One service area chose not to participate in the
extension process.

“With these contract extensions in place, our
contractors can continue to invest in the equipment and resources necessary to
keep our provincial highways and bridges maintained to safely move people and
goods across the province,” said Jack Davidson, president of the BCRB.  “The services our highway maintenance
contractors provide and the employment they create make an important economic
contribution to all regions of British Columbia.”

B.C.’s maintenance contractors maintain more than
47,500 kilometres of road and 2,800 structures, and employ about 2,000 people
who provide services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The annual value of
these service contracts is approximately $370 million.

The ministry will continue to closely monitor the
performance of all its road and bridge contractors and guarantee they are
meeting or exceeding the service level requirements.