VANCOUVER – Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) president Fiona Famulak is “alarmed and concerned” about the province of British Columbia’s new Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) framework.
The organization, Famulak said, is joining with the British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) in expressing concern regarding CBAs going forward.
“Since July 16, we’ve heard from our members that they fear this agreement will result in fewer bidding opportunities for local companies, will lead to discriminatory hiring practices and an overall increase in the cost of construction – all of which will not will realize best value for tax payer dollars,” she said in a statement.
On July 16, B.C. Premier John Horgan announced the new framework would be used with the Pattullo Bridge project, the upcoming four-laning of the Trans-Canada Highway between Kamloops and Alberta and other future projects. He also announced the creation of BC Infrastructure Benefits Inc., a crown corporation to manage labour on public infrastructure projects.
Horgan said in the announcement CBAs will deliver good-paying jobs, better training and apprenticeships and more trades opportunities for Indigenous peoples, women and youth around the province.
However, the announcement did not reference that the agreement comes with a union-labour component that is prescriptive and regressive, the VRCA states.
Further, details of the labour agreements, including the definition of “key infrastructure projects and whether it will extend to schools and hospitals, have yet to be released,” Famulak said in the release.
In a statement released July 18, the VRCA said it will oppose the B.C. government’s CBA framework on the basis it will result in local companies facing potential barriers to participation in public sector infrastructure projects in the province and will result in out-of-province companies building B.C. infrastructure and returning the economic benefit to their own jurisdictions.
The CBA framework will also “exacerbate an already tight labour market that needs all the skilled workers it can find,” the statement said.
“All of the above concerns will increase the cost of construction, which will ultimately be paid for with taxpayers’ dollars,” Famulak said.
The VRCA has also joined a coalition of non-affiliated unions and business associations who have signed an open letter addressed to Horgan requesting the B.C. government abandon the CBA.
The open letter states in part, “this building trades-only hiring policy puts an end to fair, open and transparent procurement. No matter how a construction company organizes its workforce, every company should have the right to bid and win government work. Your government’s new model also involves creating a new Crown corporation, BC Infrastructure Benefits Inc. Another layer of bureaucratic red tape is not how we build a better province.”
The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association, the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada, CLAC, the Vancouver Board of Trade and the BC Chamber of Commerce are among the signatories of the open letter.
The open letter can be read in full here.
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