3-year deal reached in labour dispute between LifeLabs and 1,200 striking workers

British Columbia's main outpatient lab services provider and the union representing about 1,200 striking workers have reached a deal through binding recommendations from a mediator, ending roughly 10 weeks of strike action.

LifeLabs and the BC General Employees' Union both said they reached the three-year collective bargaining agreement after receiving recommendations from mediator Mark Brown, and it will remain in effect until March 31, 2027.

Workers had been conducting job action in B.C. since February, rotating temporary closures at different lab locations.

"We appreciate the collaboration and partnership of BCGEU throughout this process," LifeLabs said in a statement on Wednesday. "LifeLabs has a long history of partnering with BCGEU, and we look forward to continuing the strong, collaborative relationship we have built over time."

The union said in its statement that the deal included wage increases of about 11.3 per cent to 20 per cent over the agreement's three-year term, putting pay "at parity" with public-sector wages in the deal's second year.

The agreement also included "critical changes to address workload and overtime issues," and the union said LifeLabs had removed sick-pay concessions it wanted from workers.

Union bargaining committee chair Mandy De Fields said in a statement that members "stood strong" during the strike action to "fight for a fair deal and sustainable services" from LifeLabs.

"During mediation at the end of April, we decided that accepting the mediator's proposal would get us the best possible deal from a very difficult employer," De Fields said.

LifeLabs did not release details on the agreement in its responses.

The union said in February that workers took job action due to LifeLabs' refusal to increase wages and benefits to cover the high cost of living, as well as "poor working conditions resulting from chronic understaffing."

WATCH | Lifelab workers on job action since February:

Hundreds of B.C. LifeLabs workers go on strike

3 months ago

Duration 2:12

Workers at one of the country's largest lab diagnostic providers are on strike. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, the union says LifeLabs employees have been without a contract for nearly a year, and the job action comes after months of unsuccessful negotiations.

The two sides had been without a contract since April 2024 and the union voted in November to authorize job action in the dispute.

The dispute has also brought LifeLab's U.S. ownership into focus, with a public health advocacy group issuing an open letter in April to Premier David Eby, urging the province to end its contract with U.S.-based Quest Diagnostics, which bought LifeLabs last year for $1.35 billion.

The letter from the BC Health Coalition said placing outpatient lab services under a public system would reduce wait times, save money and improve working conditions and service levels.

BCGEU president Paul Finch raised those same concerns in the union's announcement of the new agreement.

"We thank Mark Brown for his work in helping to reach a resolution," Finch said in his statement. "However, Quest and LifeLabs' inability to reach an agreement at the bargaining table clearly reflects their prioritization of profit over the well-being of workers and patients. 

"This underscores the need to transition B.C.'s diagnostic services into the public system."

Finch said the union is calling for the province to conduct a new study on health care in B.C., "to assess health care delivery from an economic perspective" to understand what model would work best for both patients and workers.