The union representing thousands of public service workers in British Columbia escalated job action across the province on Tuesday.
The B.C. General Employees Union (BCGEU) said more than 4,000 workers are now on strike at 22 sites across the province.
More picket lines went up Tuesday in Victoria and Surrey, where other members have been striking for a week. Job action also expanded to Nanaimo, Kamloops, Williams Lake, Kelowna, Cranbrook, Nelson, Fort St. John and Smithers.
Some members in Prince George, Victoria and Surrey began job action last Tuesday, , with picket lines added in Vancouver two days later.
The union said Tuesday that virtual pickets were in place in Prince George and Williams Lake due to air quality concerns from heavy wildfire smoke.
The BCGEU represents about 34,000 public service workers in the province, ranging from health care to prisons.
It said members voted nearly 93 per cent in favour of taking job action in an August strike vote, after agreement talks with the Public Service Agency broke down the previous month.
The union issued a 72-hour strike notice just ahead of the Labour Day long weekend.
The union said picket locations continue to focus on government operations, with minimal impact on the public.
“At the same time, BCGEU members working at these locations are needed by the B.C. economy more than ever – they’re required to move resource projects forward. Without them, environmental assessments and permits don’t happen, projects stall and communities wait,” BCGEU said in a release.
Essential services will continue in the province while the strike is ongoing. The Labour Relations Board sets minimum levels of service that must be maintained when a labour dispute has the potential to threaten people’s health, safety and welfare.
“We recognize the rights of BCGEU workers to strike…but our goal is to reach a fair agreement at the table and we’re going to continue working to do that,” said Premier David Eby last Thursday.
He said the province is facing significant “fiscal headwinds,” and the employer needs to ensure any agreement is fair to taxpayers.
The province has projected a record $10.9 billion budget deficit this year.
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said Eby’s focus on fiscal responsibility is “laughable.”
“This is a premier who has driven B.C. into record debt and deficits, and now suddenly wants to claim he’s standing up for taxpayers. Nobody is buying it. You can’t dig a hole for years and then pose as the guy with the shovel,” said Rustad in a statement on Friday.
A key sticking point in the negotiations is wage increases. The union is calling for an 8.25 per cent wage increase over the two-year deal. The latest provincial counter offer includes a 3.5 per cent increase over two years.
The union said BCGEU public service workers make about 2.7 per cent below the weekly average wage. As an example, the pay for wildfire fighters tops out at $56,546 per year.
“The government’s latest offer—just 1.5 per cent in the first year and 2 per cent in the second—falls far short of addressing members’ needs and is essentially telling the public to expect cuts in the services we all rely on,” said BCGEU President Paul Finch in a statement.
The union is also pushing for fair access to telework and a limit on non-union managers.
