LifeLabs workers in Kitchener prepared to strike if deal isn’t reached by Saturday

A sign is seen on the door at a LifeLabs location in Vancouver, Oct. 22, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Some LifeLabs workers are preparing for a potential strike.

Couriers working out of locations in Kitchener may be impacted by the job action if a deal can’t be reached by Saturday.

In a news release, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) said 25 local couriers could be walking the picket line on Tuesday.

Other couriers and mail room clerks in Toronto, Mississauga, Peel, Oshawa, Durham, Halton, York and Vaughan would also be involved.

The union said the main issue involves a lack of dependable futures.

"LifeLabs is a billion-dollar, for-profit company that gets millions of our public health care dollars," OPSEU President J.P. Hornick said in the release. "It can absolutely afford to treat workers fairly – yet even full-time workers are struggling to pay rent as some of the lowest paid employees in the company. How are you supposed to keep up with the cost of living when your rent hike is higher than your wage increase?"

President of Local 298, the union serving Kitchener employees, said members feel like they are being pushed out as the company contracts work out to third-party agencies.

"We have experienced couriers and mail clerks in-house that closely follow protocols around safe handling and transport of test specimens to preserve the integrity of the sample," Ted Rietveld, president of OPSEU Local 298 said. "But the company has no issues recruiting agency workers and handing them a LifeLabs t-shirt so the public can't tell the difference."

In an email on Thursday, LifeLabs said they are currently negotiating the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement for couriers and dispatch coordinators in the GTA and Kitchener.

“We remain committed to working to achieve a reasonable, responsible, and sustainable agreement.”

“In the event of a strike, LifeLabs will take all possible actions to minimize disruption to customers and healthcare providers. We will implement a business continuity plan to ensure that we can continue to provide Ontarians with access to important health care services. Patient Services Centres will remain open, and laboratories will continue to function as usual.”