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"We're here tonight because the safety and well-being of vulnerable children, vulnerable youth and fragile families you serve is being compromised," said President Walker
Vancouver (5 Mar. 2014) - Over 35 members of the British Columbia Government and General Employees Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) working in the Ministries of Children and Family Development (MCFD) and Social Development and Social Inclusion (SDSI), as well as community social service workers, met on February 27 in Nanaimo to kick off the first of several member meetings to address the challenges of working to provide support and services to vulnerable children and families.
Social workers, administrative support staff, community support workers, and other members came together to hear from President Darryl Walker about the union's plans to tackle the systemic issues plaguing the ministries and allied community services.
Safety and well-being compromised by high workload and lack of resources
"We're here tonight because the safety and well-being of vulnerable children, vulnerable youth and fragile families you serve is being compromised," said President Walker. "It's being compromised because you all face overwhelming workloads. And because the government is not committing the resources required to protect vulnerable children, youth or families."
"We are committed to supporting an urgent, comprehensive assessment of staffing, workload and safety issues in the Ministry. We know that Ministry workers and community social service workers share common workplace concerns. We need you to work with us to make change, and that's why we are here tonight," Walker told members.
Members committed to improving services for vulnerable children
Members identified the issues that concerned them the most at work, and outlined what needs to change. Members' feedback and input will be consolidated and reported back to members, and will form the basis of the union's campaign.
The meeting in Nanaimo was the first of several member meetings the union is conducting to hear from members who work in MCFD, SDSI, and community social services as part of our campaign.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE