More than 2,000 BCGEU employees from across the province — at nine sites, including one in Prince George, one in Surrey and seven in Victoria — were walking picket lines Tuesday, Sept. 3.
These demonstrations were preceded by a 72-hour potential strike notice issued Friday by the union. The notice expired today and led to the walkouts.
The BCGEU said a strike notice was issued following a breakdown in negotiations between the union and the public service bargaining committee chair.
A total of 92.7 per cent of BCGEU members supported job action “if necessary,” with 86 per cent of the membership casting ballots.
The BCGEU represents more than 34,000 members in public service fields, including social services, health care, education, corrections, wildfire fighting and more.
The union said more than 200 Prince George workers are picketing today at 1011 Fourth St., outside the provincial government offices.
Workers are protesting a lack of wage increases to keep pace with the cost of living. The union said it is seeking a four per cent general wage increase in the first year and 4.25 per cent in the second, along with an unspecified cost-of-living adjustment.
“Wages in the public service have not kept up with the cost of living,” said BCGEU president Paul Finch. “Our members have told us that clearly and they’ve told the government that in an overwhelming 92.7 per cent strike vote. And that just shows the resolve and the unity in our membership to get a fair contract that addresses the affordability concerns in this province.”
Finch highlighted the strong voter turnout and the difficult circumstances that may come with job action.
“It’s overwhelming and I think it reflects the severity of the affordability crisis that we’re seeing,” he said. “That shows it’s not only that it’s 92.7 per cent in favour, but over 86 per cent of the membership voted. So it’s an incredible mandate and it shows the resolve to stay on the picket line until we get a good deal. I mean, look, here’s what it comes down to. For the civil service, taking job action is the last resort. This is a very difficult thing for people to do. And what’s being reflected here is that the civil service is united and committed to take that step to get a contract that meets the needs they’ve outlined.”
He also told The Citizen that picketers would remain on the line as long as necessary.
“The government’s wage offer is abysmally low. It’s not going to work,” Finch said. “We need the government to come back to the table to revise the monetary offer that’s going to address the needs we put forward on behalf of our members. Wildfire fighters fighting fires on the front line across this province right now typically make $28 an hour. That’s got to change. So we’ve outlined a number of areas where we need improvement. The government didn’t come back to the table on the weekend. They have not provided a revised wage mandate. We’re going to stay on the picket line for as long as we need to, for as long as it takes.”
One key issue driving the action is the lack of concessions for wildfire fighters, which Finch emphasized.
“We came down from our initial offer and we tabled what we thought was a competitive offer at the table and the government wouldn’t move,” he said. “In fact, the response we got is that they felt wildfire fighters shouldn’t receive a small travel stipend. In fact, the last formal talks we had with the government were that they believed the tents that people sleep in between shifts were a proper accommodation that invalidated them from travel status.
“They’re just out of touch with not just our membership, but I would say the people in British Columbia. This is a common situation, but I’ll just say that, typically, most professions you don’t have to go and sleep in the bush to fight a wildfire. That’s a unique situation. We would expect to see more respect shown for our wildfire fighters doing that. Certainly the government’s position is unacceptable here.”
The 2,000 strikers were also joined by members of other BC unions, including the Professional Employees Association — which recently held a strike vote — and MoveUp, a labour union based in Burnaby.
