Sales associates at the Hudson’s Bay Company in Kamloops, BC have been on strike since December 10, in their fight for decent wage increases.
The workers, who are members of USW Local 1-417 in Kamloops, make nearly $4 less than the living wage in Kamloops. Despite this, HBC refuses to offer more than pennies per hour more.
“Negotiations fell flat when the talks turned to the insulting 1% yearly increase Hudson’s Bay has offered from the beginning,” said Jordan Lawrence, USW Local 1-417 financial secretary. “This offer is roughly a 17-cent raise to those who earn slightly above minimum wage.”
“To add to the insult, when speaking on the 1% offer from Hudson’s Bay, their lead negotiator stated, ‘go on strike forever, it’s not going to change.’ It’s appalling this is what Hudson’s Bay thinks of its workers. It’s absolutely disgraceful.”
[Photo: USW]
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