Ten employees at the Victoria Salvation Army recycling centre were laid off and escorted out of the building this week.
At least three had worked for the Christian-based charity organization for more than 20 years.
“This is extremely disappointing, especially for an employer that stands on goodwill principles, to throw out someone after spending 20 years of their worklife there,” said Darryl Walker, president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union. “They’re upset.”
The BCGEU called on the Salvation Army to reinstate the workers and said the layoffs are a violation of the collective agreement and B.C. Labour Code — which requires 60 days notice and provisions for severance.
According to the union, the laid-off workers were all sorters at the Vanalman Avenue warehouse. The workers were paid at a rate of $13.53 an hour to sort donated items before they were shipped to one of the eight thrift stores around Greater Victoria and Duncan. They helped divert millions of pounds of donated and discarded goods from landfills to generate funds for low-income families and individuals.
On Tuesday morning, the 10 sorters were called into a management office and told their jobs were being eliminated. The sorting work would be shifted to the non-unionized thrift store employees to complete.
In a statement, the BCGEU said it considers this contracting out union work to non-union workers and sees it a clear breach of the collective agreement — which was recently renegotiated.
Walker said the Salvation Army should do the right thing: “Reinstate the workers and go through the proper procedure for any staffing changes.”
Representatives from the Salvation Army were contacted Wednesday but did not respond to requests for an interview.
