Striking LifeLabs workers have been on the picket lines for nearly two months, calling for wages on par with those in the hospital system, adequate staffing, and questioning why an American for-profit company is playing a role in B.C.’s public health care system.

Workers for the laboratory testing company have been without a collective agreement for the past year. After Quest Diagnostics acquired the company in July 2024, unionized LifeLabs workers voted to give the company an “overwhelming mandate” for strike action, according to Paul Finch, president of the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU).

“Fundamentally, this is about preventing an American for-profit health-care company from eroding wages and working conditions for members who deliver critical services, and through that, from eroding patient care,” Finch told the Chronicle.

In B.C. there are approximately 1,200 unionized LifeLabs workers, including 30 in Kamloops — although that number has declined by 12 over the past year, according to Wendy Cummer, bargaining committee representative for Kamloops and other parts of the B.C. interior.

Although workers are months into a strike, the two parties have done little bargaining. Cummer said the two sides are still “too far apart.”

Currently, LifeLabs employees are striking at one location each day. Closures are noted each day on the LifeLabs website.

In Kamloops, wages for LifeLabs workers is between four and 16 percent lower than those doing the same work in the hospital laboratory system, according to Cummer. This has led to issues with worker retention and recruitment, and LifeLabs workers say they feel constantly understaffed and overworked as a result.

“Our biggest issue is we have a crisis with both recruiting and retaining professional staff, and until we can improve both the wages and the working conditions, we’re not going to be able to correct that,” Cummer said.

The company was previously owned by Ontario public pension fund, OMERS, which acted as steward for the company for 17 years. After it was sold to Quest, questions arose over foreign ownership of a company that plays a vital role in the health care systems of B.C. and Ontario.

“We think that, especially now, it’s completely inappropriate to have an American for-profit company running a critical aspect of our health care system,” Finch said.

Finch pointed to long wait times and the “almost assembly-line-like approach” to scheduling taken by the company, which he attributed to the for-profit nature of the company.

“And that’s not just from the overall political climate. It is what we are seeing specifically in terms of the measures Quest Diagnostics is bringing in to squeeze higher profit margins out of patients and the workforce,” Finch said.

At a rally held on March 30 in downtown Kamloops, bargaining committee chair Mandy De Fields told the Chronicle that the changes made by the company’s new ownership have resulted in longer wait times for patients, especially when it comes to results.

“One of the first things Quest did when they took over was to shut down a number of departments and laboratories around the province, including here in Kamloops,” she said.

De Fields said with microbiology labs removed from Kamloops, test samples need to be sent to the Lower Mainland, adding to the time it takes for patients to get results, and therefore get a diagnosis and treatment.

De Fields agreed that the current political climate has galvanized the union’s members, and she thinks the public is taking notice, too.

“I think our timing is really good for this. We do believe it’s time for the provincial government to stand up and take notice of where our laboratory services in this province is being directed from,” De Fields said.

A statement provided by LifeLabs said the company’s highest priority “is to ensure the continuity of care for the people of British Columbia,” and that the company “respects the negotiation process and employees’ rights to pursue their interests,” and hopes to reach an agreement that is mutually acceptable.

Finch said the union is currently planning a campaign to highlight public versus private models of health-care services.