The B.C. The General Employees' Union (BCGEU) is walking away from contract negotiations and declaring an impasse, according to the union president.
"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 must conduct 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.
The declaration of an impasse by the union comes after six months of negotiations, 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.
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.
Black Press Media has reached out to the B.C. government for comment.
More to come.
