Metro Vancouver outside workers halt job action with agreement on arbitrator

The union representing Metro Vancouver outside workers says its members have halted job action after both sides agreed on the appointment of a former British Columbia Supreme Court judge as an arbitrator in the ongoing labour dispute.

The Greater Vancouver Regional District Employees’ Union says former judge Stephen Kelleher will preside over the binding arbitration.

A statement from the union describes Kelleher as a veteran labour relations expert who chaired the BC Labour Relations Board before becoming a judge.

Metro Vancouver confirmed Tuesday that the two sides had agreed to binding arbitration and were working to find an arbitrator to help resolve the dispute.

The two sides have been without a contract for about 20 months and unionized workers have been staging job action since May, with pickets at regional parks, water treatment facilities and Metro Vancouver headquarters, among other places.

The union’s statement says the outstanding issues to be resolved through binding arbitration relate to health and safety improvements, as well as the contracting out of unionized work and recruitment and retention of skilled labour.

“I know our 750 members are eager to return to work for the public, providing valuable services like protecting water, air, and natural resources, providing drinking water, sewer, and infrastructure services and stewarding parks, ecological reserves, and housing communities,” union president Jesse Medeiros says in the statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2026.

The Canadian Press