The B.C. The General Employees' Union (BCGEU) is walking away from the public service collective bargaining negotiations with the province and declaring an impasse. A strike vote will be held in the coming weeks.
"We do not take that action lightly, but we did that after the employer — the government — failed to move meaningfully on the asks that were critically important to our members," said BCGEU president Paul Finch in a press conference in front of the B.C. legislature on July 18.
Finch said the union will hold a strike vote before any job action can take place.
The union will be putting that question to the roughly 34,000 members of the public service bargaining unit. These core government employees include workers ranging from conservation officers to BC Liquor Store employees to social workers.
B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey provided an emailed statement that said it is the "union's prerogative" to take a strike vote as part of the collective bargaining process.
"I am hopeful the parties will return to the table soon – it’s best to keep the bargaining discussions at the table so the parties can focus on reaching a settlement,” she said.
The declaration of an impasse by the union comes after six months of bargaining, with wage negotiations starting in the second week of June. The government had proposed a 3.5-per-cent wage increase over two years. BCGEU countered with four per cent in year one and another 4.25 per cent in year two.
"So, as you can imagine, we're significantly apart there," Finch said.
The union also wants non-wage concessions from the government, including the removal of job evaluation plans used to set wages. Finch said these plans devalue the work of the union's members.
The two sides met at about 9 p.m. on Thursday to discuss the government's counter-offer. Finch said that not only was this offer not good enough, but the conversation devolved into a discussion about whether B.C. Wildfire Service personnel are entitled to travel status when they sleep in tents on the job. The union's position is that they should be. The province disagreed.
"The priorities, I think, of the employer side are completely out of touch with, not just our membership, but frankly, British Columbians,' he said.
Finch could not provide details at this stage of what a strike would entail. The last job action taken by the union was in 2022, and included a two-and-a-half-week strike at three liquor and cannabis distribution warehouses.
Without a strike mandate in place, Finch said it is too early to speculate what form it would take, but he pledged to take "whatever job action is necessary to achieve a fair deal."
Information will be provided to members over the coming weeks leading up to a vote.
