{"id":16924,"date":"2020-01-31T00:07:48","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T07:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=16924"},"modified":"2020-01-31T00:07:48","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T07:07:48","slug":"ibew-strikes-at-ledcor-over-fibre-optics-staffing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=16924","title":{"rendered":"IBEW strikes at Ledcor over fibre optics staffing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Union reps say workers want protect their wages from future cuts and guard against an industry that increasingly makes precarious work standard practice<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stefan Labb\u00e9<\/a><\/span> \/ Tri-City News<\/span><\/p>\n

OCTOBER 2, 2019 09:35 AM<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The strike has spilled out onto the intersection of Broadway St. and Mary Hill Bypass in Port Coquitlam<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Photograph By STEFAN LABB\u00c9\/THE TRI-CITY NEWS<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dozens of telecommunication technicians have erected a picket line outside of Ledcor\u2019s main Port Coquitlam offices after 31 workers were fired last month, according to the union representing technicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

The strike comes on the back of deteriorating working conditions \u2014 including an unfair work quota system \u2014 and \u201csurface negotiations\u201d in which Ledcor has failed to commit to the fair treatment of its workers, said Dustin Brecht, a union representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213, which represents utility workers, traffic controllers, arbourists and communications technicians, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Ledcor, however, said the union has it wrong, and that the company is simply responding to a downturn in demand for fibre-optic installations after years of network upgrades.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re not immune to that,\u201d said Ledcor spokesperson David Hoff. \u201cEvery time we get reductions in orders, we don’t need the workforce, so we are forced to make layoffs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hoff said Ledcor\u2019s clients have already looked to other companies since the union announced it had a plans to strike.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to its massive projects in construction and infrastructure, Ledcor is one of several companies that bids on contracts put out by telecommunications giant Telus as it moves to upgrade its fibre-optics network across the province.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The dispute between it and the union began two years ago when workers moved to join IBEW, according to the union. Brecht said workers wanted to make sure their wages wouldn\u2019t get cut in the future and to guard against an industry that was increasingly making precarious work standard practice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, Brecht said, there were more than 240 technicians working out of the Port Coquitlam offices. After the most recent job cuts, Brecht said that number has been chopped in half to about 120 workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe people that were getting fired en masse were being replaced with subcontractors \u2014 untrained, unqualified subcontractors, not paid benefits, some of them close to minimum wage,\u201d said Brecht. \u201cWe\u2019re fighting for them, too, whether they know it or not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Workers strike outside Port Coquitlam\u2019s Ledcor facility – Stefan Labbean \/ The Tri City News<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ledcor\u2019s spokesperson denied the company is replacing replacement workers. Instead, he said there is dissent among workers in the union, and that those showing up to work are bargaining unit employees of IBEW 213.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond job security concerns, union representatives said Ledcor places unrealistic quotas on workers that require them to rush fibre-optic installations in order to meet the next appointment. During installation booms, technicians can make a lot of money packing several contracts into a single, long shift. But that can also lead to shoddy and sometimes dangerous working conditions as technicians scale ladders and drill through walls.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThings are happening. People are falling off ladders.\u201d he said. \u201cMore importantly, what\u2019s happening to customers\u2019 homes? There was a hydro main [line] drilled through.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As workers patrol the picket lines in Port Coquitlam, union representatives are calling on Patty Hajdu, the federal minister responsible for employment, workforce and labour, to step in and establish a set of industry standards that would protect workers from precarious working conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

But according to Hoff, Ledcor\u2019s spokesperson, this kind of work has always been done on a contract basis by subcontractors. The only thing that will bring the jobs back, Hoff says, will be an upswing in the industry,<\/b> something he predicts won\u2019t happen until 5G network-upgrades make their way to Canada.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that happens worldwide, we hope to get some of that work,\u201d said Hoff.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

https:\/\/www.tricitynews.com\/news\/ibew-strikes-at-ledcor-over-fibre-optics-staffing-1.23964333<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Union reps say workers want protect their wages from future cuts and guard against an industry that increasingly makes precarious work standard practice   Stefan Labb\u00e9 \/ Tri-City News OCTOBER 2, 2019 09:35 AM The strike has spilled out onto the intersection of Broadway St. and Mary Hill Bypass in Port Coquitlam Photograph By STEFAN […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[345,346,17,28,515,60,774,325,100,326,139,141],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-4g","category-5g","category-bc","category-cell-tower","category-fiber-optic","category-fiber-optics","category-ledcor","category-microcell","category-port-coquitlam","category-small-cells","category-telus","category-telus-smart-meter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16924"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16927,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16924\/revisions\/16927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}