Above photo: A BCGEU member dressed as Where’s Waldo wondering where wages are. BCGEU / X.
British Columbia General Employees Union workers have been on strike for seven weeks.
The longest strike in the province’s history.
The number of public service workers taking job action in BC has now surpassed 26,000 after workers represented by the Professional Employees Association (PEA) escalated their strike to include all Government Licensed Professionals they represent. PEA represents 1,600 workers on strike. They are joined on the picket lines by more than 25,000 striking public workers represented by the British Columbia General Employees Union (BCGEU).
Talks between the government and the BCGEU began in January and bargaining with PEA began in May. Since then, both unions have decried what they call insufficient wage offers. PEA decided to escalate its strike when talks broke down on Tuesday. The union said it seemed as though the government would not budge on its offer of a 3.5 per cent wage increase over two years.
“These workers don’t want to be on strike — they want to get back to keeping British Columbians safe and our communities strong,” said Melissa Moroz, Executive Director of the PEA and lead negotiator. “The government has the power to end this strike by investing in the public service.”
The latest wage offer presented to the BCGEU was an increase of five per cent over two years. The union has presented a counter proposal of eight per cent over the same period. Since then, official union communications indicate that they have not heard back from the government’s bargaining agents.
“The government has failed to come to the bargaining table with a fair deal, and as a result, members of the public service have been on strike for weeks,” BCGEU president Paul Finch wrote in a letter to the union’s membership. “This isn’t what any of us wanted, and it’s especially disappointing coming from a government who promised to prioritize workers’ rights.”
The same letter said it feels as though the province’s NDP leadership has abandoned the workers that helped them get into office.
“While the BCGEU is not affiliated with the BCNDP, we know our membership has meaningfully supported the party in the past because the NDP claimed to be a party that supports working people.,” Finch wrote. “Public service workers aren’t getting that support.”
The BCGEU strike has affected a multitude of services and industries across the province which has led to stalled progress on driver’s licences and health-care cards, a pause in StudentAid’s online service availability and the closure of liquor and cannabis stores. With all government licensed professionals now striking, engineers, geoscientists and psychologists have now also stopped working.
“After seven weeks on the picket lines, it is deeply disappointing for our members to have the government refuse to recognize the value of its own public service,” Moroz said. “They have left us with no choice but to escalate this job action and put all government licensed professionals on strike.”
The BCGEU and PEA say that the government can end service disruptions by investing in public services. The BC government, however, maintains that their wage offers are fair.
“This has been a long strike,” said BC premier David Eby. “We have made a fair offer to the workers to keep them in line with inflation and make sure that they’re not falling behind, but recognizing that the province is facing considerable financial strain, and that we have to be fair to taxpayers as well. Our goal is to get an agreement at the table with the union, get everybody back to work.”
The strikes by BCGEU and PEA are now wrapping their seventh week. This makes it the longest public service strike in the province’s history.
