B.C. public service workers vote to strike, issue 72-hour notice

The BCGEU has issued a 72-hour strike notice and it’s not the only union ready for job action.

The union representing B.C. public service workers has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike, which could begin as soon as Tuesday.

A total of 86 per cent of eligible B.C. General Employees’ Union members voted, with 92.7 per cent of them in favour of a strike, said union president Paul Finch at a news conference Friday.

“That is an overwhelming mandate,” Finch said. “This emphatic strike result reflects the seriousness of the affordability crisis that our members are facing and the need for fair wages to address that crisis.”

The union said it had issued a 72-hour strike notice, which would put the union in position to strike as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

Voting began on Aug. 11 and ended at noon Friday.

Mike Farnworth, B.C.’s acting deputy premier, addressed the results shortly after they were released.

“Employees have the right to take a strike vote,” Farnworth told reporters Friday in Vancouver. “They have the right to go on strike. But at the end of the day, agreements are achieved at the bargaining table, and that’s where we expect the agreements to be negotiated.”

Members of the Professional Employees Association – which represents licensed professionals, such as geoscientists, psychologists and engineers, employed by the government – have also voted in favour of a strike, and are issuing a 72-hour notice aligning with the BCGEU’s.

“What the BCGEU achieves at the bargaining table directly affects PEA members,” said PEA executive director Melissa Moroz, who spoke at the news conference with Finch.

“Your fight is our fight,” Moroz added. “We made a strategic decision a year ago that we would stand beside the BCGEU. If you serve 72-hour strike notice, we’ll serve 72-hour strike notice as well. Co-ordinated action makes us stronger.”

Asked what British Columbians should expect to see when job actions begin on Tuesday, Finch remained tight-lipped.

He said there are no meetings currently scheduled with the employer, but the union’s preference would be for the government to return to the bargaining table with a revised wage offer before Tuesday.

Finch declined to elaborate on where picket lines might be located if the parties are unable to reach an agreement over the long weekend.

“What I will say is that we’ve taken great care with our strike planning, in the event that we do have to strike,” he said. “We will be reaching out to our members potentially impacted, and we think our message is clear to British Columbians: If you see a picket line, do not cross that picket line.”

The BCGEU represents roughly 34,000 public service employees. Among them are wildland firefighters, correctional officers, sheriffs, liquor and cannabis retail and distribution staff, social workers, administrative professionals and other government employees.

The PEA has more than 1,800 members, and Moroz said 82 per cent voted in favour of a strike.

Both unions have been without a contract since March 31, and the parties have been at an impasse in their negotiations since mid-July.

Finch has previously said the impasse came over wages, work from home rules and modernizing the contract.

In the past 15 years, Finch said, the union has seen a 52 per cent increase in the size of “excluded management” inside the public service, while at the same time, front-line workers have been asked to do “more with less.”

The union is looking for a two-year deal, with a four per cent wage increase in the first year and a 4.25 per cent increase in the second, Finch said.

The government’s offers so far have not even been half of what the union is seeking, he added.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Martin MacMahon and The Canadian Press