Health care workers and supporters rallied Thursday afternoon at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre.
More than 240 Hospital Employees' Union (HEU) members work in support services for Sodexo and have been without a contract since May 2013. Workers have not seen a wage increase for 20 months and total compensation for most falls below the $17.02 per hour living wage for the Fraser Valley, according to the union.
The French-multinational was contracted by Access Health Ltd. in 2008, the corporation that runs ARHCC, to deliver support services when the privately-operated facility opened.
Bargaining resumes between HEU and Sodexo on June 16, and according to Sodexho's spokesperson Katherine Power, "we're optimistic we can reach a deal.
"We've reached agreements with other HEU sites across the province."