About two dozen legislative employees who worked for the BC United caucus will have access to public money to ensure their severance payments are covered.
A legislative assembly management committee made the decision Monday following a private discussion about BC United’s inability to fully pay out 25 caucus workers in Victoria.
They will be out of a job in October because of Leader Kevin Falcon’s decision to suspend his party’s campaign and ask members to support the B.C. Conservatives.
BC United has cash reserves from caucus and constituency funds, but might need an undetermined amount of taxpayer money to fully compensate all of its caucus workers.
The amount of the expected shortfall is unknown.
It’s unclear what the B.C. Conservative Party’s position is on helping the employees from its own party funds.
Ravi Kahlon, the NDP government house leader, said he is “extremely frustrated” at having to dip into public money to help out Falcon’s caucus staff, instead of having BC United fully compensate its workers after years of service.
“When John Rustad and Kevin Falcon were sitting downtown at the Wall Centre negotiating power agreements, no consideration was made by them about their workers, the people who are serving British Columbia, working for them in the legislature,” Kahlon said after the discussion by the legislative assembly management committee on Monday morning.
“If they can do that to people that work for them, what hope do workers across British Columbia have? I think this is shameful that we’re even having this conversation. People who have served for a long time, some people 20-plus years, I think that raises questions: ‘Where did the money go? Why are we in this situation?’ ”
Kahlon said the NDP would nevertheless support the payouts because the workers, regardless of political affiliation, “shouldn’t be left hanging out to dry.”
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