It didn't take long for the new NDP government to shake up the oversight of labour relations and employment standards.

On Thursday (August 24) Jacqueline de Aguayo was appointed as acting chair of the Labour Relations Board and the Employment Standards Tribunal.

A long-time union official and lawyer, de Aguayo has in the past been assistant secretary-business manager of the Hospital Employees' Union.

Prior to that, she was coordinator of representation with the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

She became a member of the LRB in 2014.

The former chair of the LRB and the EST, Brent Mullin, had his appointment rescinded through an order-in-council.

The HEU, where de Aguayo used to be employed, contributed $244,377.14 to the NDP this year, according to filings with Elections B.C.

Meanwhile, the minister of mental health and addictions, Judy Darcy, is a former secretary-business manager of the union.

And Premier John Horgan's chief of staff, Geoff Meggs, was communications director of the HEU in the 1990s before becoming director of communications for the NDP government in 1996. Attorney General David Eby's ministerial assistant, Stephen Howard, also worked at the HEU in that era.

Having someone with an HEU history as acting chair of the Labour Relations Board may not sit well with some in the B.C. Nurses' Union.

Several years ago, the BCNU enraged many in the labour movement when it launched two attempts to organize licensed practical nurses who belonged to the HEU.

In 2012, the BCNU finally succeeded when a majority of LPNs at six health authories voted to join the union.

Whereas the HEU has been a large donor to the provincial NDP, the BCNU was a small contributor this year—giving just $1,200 less than a week before voting day.