Pickets were up Friday at the Nanaimo Harbourfront Library, as a dispute between unionized librarians and the Vancouver Island Regional Library continues over a new collective agreement.
The branch at 90 Commercial St. did not open on Friday because of the job action.
Librarians represented by the B.C. General Employees Union are seeking a new contract with the Vancouver Island Regional Library, which has 39 branches in the province.
“Communications continue to flow through the mediator, but as of today, no formal discussions are planned,” David Carson, spokesman for the regional service, said Friday, adding the employer’s latest proposal remains on the table.
A statement from the BCGEU said staff want to return to work and the union is waiting to hear from the employer.
Decisions about whether job action will occur over the weekend will be made on a “day-by-day, even hour-by-hour, basis,” it said.
Library patrons can check the union’s website at bcgeu.ca to see where picketing is occurring.
Key stumbling blocks are wages and length of a contract.
The most recent agreement expired at the end of December. The BCGEU represents more than 40 librarians at the Vancouver Island Regional Library, which serves Sooke to Sidney, up to Port Hardy, the central coast and Haida Gwaii.
Canadian Union of Public Employees members also working for the regional service are respecting picket lines.
Pickets went up first at the library’s Cowichan branch in Duncan for one day on Wednesday. There was no job action on Thursday.
