How the BCGEU is escalating strike action around Vancouver | Daily Hive

BCGEU members on strike in Vancouver. (BCGEU/Flickr)

The BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) has stepped up strike action in its push for higher wages and better working conditions, adding a new picket line in downtown Vancouver on Thursday.

Nearly 90 workers set up outside the Ministry of Finance building at 900 Howe Street, marking the third straight day of strike activity.

The move follows walkouts earlier this week in Prince George, Surrey, and Victoria, including outside the Royal BC Museum.

“No choice but to escalate”

BCGEU president Paul Finch joined members on the line in Vancouver and told Daily Hive the union will “continue to escalate as appropriate until government comes back to the negotiating table.”

“BCGEU members deliver essential services that British Columbians depend on every day, and they deserve wages that reflect the value of the critical work done by wildfire fighters, social workers, and court clerks,” Finch said.

“The government’s refusal to make a fair wage offer leaves us no choice but to escalate.”

The union says it has tried to limit the effect on the public by negotiating essential service agreements with the Labour Relations Board, which ensure health and safety roles continue during the strike.

“So far the impact on the public has been minimal,” Finch added. “We’ve made sure critical services are still running.”

Why workers are striking

The BCGEU represents more than 34,000 provincial public service workers across B.C.

Their jobs range from wildfire response and child protection to corrections, court support, and liquor and cannabis distribution.

Members are calling for wages that keep pace with inflation, as well as updates to their contract to address recruitment and retention challenges in the public service.

Union members said the BCGEU strike is about wages keeping up with inflation.

The union also wants fairer access to remote work, a modernized classification system, and limits on the growth of management positions.

Negotiations with the provincial government’s Public Service Agency began in January but broke down in July, after the previous contract expired on March 31.

The union voted 92.7 per cent in favour of strike action in late August.

According to Finch, members are ready to stay out as long as necessary. “We’ll do this for as long as it takes,” he said.

Growing labour unrest

The Professional Employees Association (PEA), which represents about 1,800 licensed professionals, including engineers and psychologists, has also joined the strike.

Both unions filed 72-hour strike notices on Aug. 29.

A Leger poll released in August showed that nearly three-quarters of British Columbians believe a wage increase is reasonable, given the current inflation rate.

Twice as many respondents said they would side with workers over the government in a dispute.

With close to 600,000 people employed in B.C.’s broader public sector, the outcome of the BCGEU dispute could influence other bargaining tables still ahead.

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