The BCGEU announced today that it is ending the current job action at the BC Public Service worksites, following a return to the bargaining table with the BC government.
The union has ended their overtime ban, effective immediately, and is making preparations to stand down picket lines at BC Liquor Distribution Branch locations.
The public sector union says this is a “good faith” move after significant progress was made in negotiations with the government that restarted last week.
The two sides will continue to meet throughout the week, with both attempting to finalize a tentative agreement.
The two parties’ media and member communications blackout will continue.
The ending of picket lines at the BC Liquor Distribution Branch locations could mean that distribution to cannabis stores can restart after being paused now for three weeks, although no official word is available from the LDB as of press time. The lack of shipments meant many cannabis stores were struggling to maintain supply, as many stores rely on weekly product shipments.
The BC LDB has not yet provided a timeline for if and when ordering and shipments could begin again for cannabis stores.
UPDATED: The BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) has now announced that they expect to have their employees returning to work at their distribution centre and Customer Care Centre operations beginning Wednesday, August 31, 2022.
The provincial distributor says they are working closely with their carriers and industry partners to allocate additional resources to support a “smooth and expedited resumption of operations.”
The LDB’s first focus will be on fulfilling and shipping orders that were received prior to Friday, August 19 when orders placed on their wholesale website were put on hold.
In a memo sent to retailers, the LDB also says that BC Cannabis wholesale will begin accepting new orders as of 12am on August 31. These orders will be added to next week’s “order cut off time.” Any orders placed today will still be cancelled.
More on this as the issue evolves.
