Contract talks resumed September 27th in the bitter labour dispute between the Telecommunications Workers Union and Telus. The parties are continuing under a “blackout” and there is no indication if there has been any progress. TWU members have been off the job since July 21st.

The talks are taking place after CEP Local 2000 announced its members are refusing to handle Telus advertising in the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers. The Victoria Times Colonist and lower mainland newspapers run by Metro Valley have also been affected by the ban. The B.C. Federation of Labour earlier had declare all Telus ads in the Sun and
Province to be “hot”. CanWest Global, owner of the Vancouver papers, failed in an attempt to stop the action, when the B.C. Labour Board ruled Local 2000 was within its contract rights.

Meanwhile, TWU business agent Karen Whifield told a Vancouver rally that some 46 B.C. union members have been arrested and charged with violating court injunction orders while picketing.

The key issue in the dispute is what the company calls “increased flexibility” and the union calls contracting our of its members’ jobs.