Some harsh accusations have arisen surrounding the wage dispute between Gateway Casinos and striking employees. BC Government Employees Union, Executive VP, Doug Kinna says, “Now their managers are poking at the picketers on the line, saying things like ‘Hope you’ve got good winter boots because you’re gonna be out until Christmas’ and ‘We’re happy the strikes on. We have more time to play golf’ and ‘We’re gonna starve you out.’”
AM 1150 immediately contacted Gateway Casinos to get comments about the claim. No response has been given, at the time of publication.
Close to 700 casino employees in Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Kamloops have been on strike since June 29th. 4 Mediation sessions between Gateway and the BCGEU have taken place over the past 2 months. This past weekend another session ended without a wage agreement in place.
“It’s just well below what we’ve told them we’d accept all the way through,” says Kinna. “We’ve finished that round of mediation and we’re not going to go back to the table until the employer signals they’re ready to move a bit, or a lot.”
No new date has been set for negotiation. Kinna says the BCGEU remains committed to the mediation process.