Young workers Orion Irvine (Local 410), Jaye Adams (L. 2298), Carrie Tessier (L. 23), Erin McLean, Kevin Tilley (L. 23), and Justin Schmid (L. 374) protest new training wage.

Premier Gordon Campbell and his MLAs gave themselves hefty pay raises as soon as they took office, then decreed that new workers can be paid $6 an hour for their first 500 hours on a job. This is a drastic cut from the B.C. minimum wage currently set at $8 an hour.

'This $6 an hour so-called training wage steals money from those who can least afford it - youth, students, women, and immigrant workers - to pump up the profits of some of the richest corporations in the world,' says young workers' advocate and CUPE Local 873 president Justin Schmid. 'This is not what people voted for!'

On behalf of an ad hoc group of young workers and students in B.C., Schmid set up an online petition that will be presented to Gordon Campbell and his Liberal Government. The petition reads:

'We demand that Gordon Campbell and all MLAs who voted in favour of the 'first job' wage be paid $6 per hour for their first 500 hours in office since the 2001 election.'

As of mid-January, close to 7,000 people had signed the petition.

One petitioner noted, 'It only takes 200 hours of training to get a pilot's licence, so why should it take 500 hours to learn how to flip burgers?'

To sign the petition and add your own message to the Premier, go to www.cupe.bc.ca or to www.petitiononline.com/ fjwc/petition.html.

For more information on ways to take action, check out the website hosted by the BC Federation of Labour www.6buckssucks.com.

Charity ambulances unhealthy idea

The B.C. government took another step backwards in December with a contradictory report that will further undermine the health care system and the province's ambulance service.

Among other suggestions, the report proposes to download emergency medical services to regional health boards.

'This is simply another measure to rid the Campbell Liberals of responsibility for providing needed services to the community,' CUPE Local 873 president John Strohmaier said. 'It will take away central accountability for our critical life-saving service.'

The report also recommends making local taxpayers subsidize the ambulance service.

'The Liberals want to tear apart the emergency health care system that we all benefit from,' Strohmaier added. 'They said health care was a priority and now they propose to turn emergency service over to charity funding.'

The report, from the legislature's select standing committee on health, recommends going to a charity model similar to the STARS system in Alberta.

The report would also have service clubs raise money to buy vital ambulance equipment.

The Liberals have also announced they are cutting the number of emergency paramedic jobs.