Nanaimo taxpayers forked over $12,171 for the city’s annual staff and council Christmas party, but most of the food was donated to the local Salvation Army.
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 401, which is preparing for contracts talks, boycotted the December luncheon.
It seems the relationship at that time between the union and city was not smooth.
Nanaimo released a statement in early December stating that it was responding to concerns about the relationship. The statement described the roles of senior staff in handling of union matters but it did not discuss any issues.
Negotiations are expected to start after the city endorses a bargaining position.
The luncheon was held at the city-owned Beban Park Community Centre. Its cost was released this week in response to a freedom of information request from the Times Colonist.
Some non-union staff and council members were at the lunch, which had traditional seasonal foods, including turkey, on the menu.
Mayor Bill McKay previously said it would be a stretch to say that 100 people were there. Nanaimo has close to 700 employees in total.
All leftover food was donated to the Salvation Army, McKay said.
On Thursday, he said, “Our union has the right to take an action such as that … It was a voluntary event to attend.”
As for the next Christmas lunch, he said, “One would certainly hope that we can give our employees the comfort in knowing that we are in a work environment that would allow them to attend.”
Local 401’s contract expired at the end of December. The spokesman could not be reached Thursday.
