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Thirty-three Unifor members working at a British Columbia credit union are on strike in hopes of bringing more fairness to training and educational opportunities in their workplace.
Before staff can be permitted to negotiate loans or offer financial advice, they must receive the proper education and training, but that is not always offered on the basis of seniority at Khalsa Credit Union, Local 3000 President Jean Van Vliet said.
“The credit union needs to be fair about who it offers training to,” Van Vliet said.
The tellers, loans officers and financial advisors at Khalsa, members of Unifor Local 3000, make between 8.5 and 12 per cent less than those at similar sized banks and credit unions in BC, and have lower benefits and pension provisions.
The members are hoping to close the salary gap, and increase the amount of money put into an RRSP-matching program, Van Vliet said. The strike began Sept. 28. There have 14 days of negotiations since last March
The members had strong support on their first day of picketing, being joined by British Columbia NDP MLA for Surrey Newton Harry Bains, along with Unifor British Columbia Area Director Gavin McGarrigle and a number of Unifor local members and staff.
The Khalsa Credit Union recently emerged from several years of being under government supervision. With five branches in the BC lower mainland and one in Victoria, the credit union is the largest serving the province’s Sikh community.
The credit union has about $287 million in assets and just fewer than 13,000 members. With growth of about 12 per cent the last five years and similar expansion expected in the coming years, Khalsa is one of the fastest growing credit unions in the province.
Local 3000 also represents workers at the CCEC Credit Union in British Columbia.
