Amazon Workers Get Back Pay After Labour Board Ruling

0:00It's March 25th. Welcome in. This is Vancouver News today, where local news meets AI. Workers at Amazon's Delta Warehouse on Anisus Island are receiving back pay after a ruling from the BC Labor Relations Board last month. The board found Amazon-violated labor code rules by skipping annual pay reviews and raises in 2025 at the YVR2 facility. Those reviews have been standard practice across Metro Vancouver sites since 2020. The issue stem from ongoing talks for first contract with UNIFOR, the newly certified union there. Section 45 of the code requires keeping wages and conditions steady during early bargaining. But the board ruled Amazon's consistent yearly increases elsewhere made them business as usual, so skipping them counted as a change. Union leaders hailed it as a major victory worth over a million dollars in retro, pay for the workers. They noted Tier 1 employees, missed raises from $1.25 an hour, up to $2.05 for those with

1:01three years on the job. Amazon had argued the reviews weren't guaranteed. The certification came last July after the board found Amazon-committed unfair practices during the union drive. Amazon now says it has paid out the owed amounts and remains committed to good faith bargaining. Bargaining for that first contract started in December and continues with the union pushing for arbitration without a deal in place yet.