Anger and frustration are the overwhelming emotions for employees thrown out of work following the abrupt closure of the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative (BCTF) in July.
“When the co-operative announced its closure, the vast majority of workers lost their jobs and were not provided termination pay, with some still being owed wages and benefits, causing them an incredible amount of stress and economic hardship,” said Dan Goodman, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 247, which represents approximately 125 members in the Okanagan.
On Sept. 12, the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. announced it was temporarily re-directing $4 million in provincial funding to help fruit growers get money owed for past harvests without waiting for the courts to sort out the aftermath of the BCTF closure. There was no mention of workers.
“They have no sense currently when they’re going to get paid, and for them to hear that growers are being given $4 million it’s frustratingly wrong, our members deserve better,” Goodman added.
He pointed out there is currently no communication with the BCTF as the insolvency is working its way through the legal system. However, the union is communicating with the court-appointed monitor to try and get its members paid.
Goodman added that Local 247 is taking another step to help employees.
“We are trying to get people to apply for compensation under Canada’s wage earner protection program and the monitor participates in that. We’re working with Service Canada to help them with pension planning and EI.”
The union’s Okanagan rep is also working with Okanagan College to help set up education, training courses and funding for workers and explore employment opportunities with chambers of commerce.
“They’re thankful we are supporting them,” Goodman said.
He noted that workers were caught off guard by the sudden closure of the BCTF, and many are struggling to deal with the situation.
“We get that growers were caught up in this situation as well,” he said. “We feel our members have been ignored here and we feel they should be at the top of the list.”
