B.C. will see picket lines this week as BCGEU strike begins, union boss says

Members of the British Columbia General Employees' Union picket outside a B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch facility, in Delta, B.C., on Monday, August 15, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

British Columbians should expect to see picket lines outside public sector offices and businesses starting Tuesday after the B.C. General Employees’ Union issued its 72-hour strike notice last week.

Union President Paul Finch on Monday declined to say where the pickets would be set up, but the BCGEU boasts about 34,000 members who staff health, education and social services facilities, as well as government liquor stores, courts and public administration offices in the province.

“We’re not going to reveal our strategy for strike action,” Finch told CTV News in an interview Monday.

“There’s been no talks over the weekend,” he added. “We’re very certain that we’re not going to see a shift here right now and there will be picket lines up on Tuesday morning.”

The BCGEU says its members voted 92.7 per cent in favour of the strike action last week, with higher wages being the union’s chief demand at the bargaining table.

“The average wage for a BCGEU civil service worker is 2.7 per cent less than the provincial average,” Finch said.

The union is seeking a four-per-cent general wage increase in the first year and 4.25 per cent in the second year, as well as an unspecified cost-of-living adjustment.

After the strike notice was issued on Friday, acting deputy B.C. premier Mike Farnworth told a news conference that the “health, safety and the welfare” of British Columbians would be protected under existing agreements for essential services if the strike was not averted.

Finch reiterated Monday that union members are committed to keeping the province safe and maintaining the public’s support throughout the strike.

A statement from the union on Monday said Finch will join striking workers on a picket line in Victoria, adding there will be picket lines across the province, including in Surrey and Prince George.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s St John Alexander and The Canadian Press