The province is seeing picket lines in Victoria, Surrey and Prince George after two of the major unions representing public workers issued a 72-hour strike notice on Friday (August 29).
BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) president Paul Finch said the strike will escalate “as appropriate,” to get a deal done with a compensation package which addresses the cost-of-living needs of BCGEU membership. As of when he spoke with CFAX 1070 this morning (Sept. 3), there were more than 2,000 workers on strike at 9 worksites across the province.
Finch suggested the strike is targeting core government operations, meaning the short-term impact on the public will be minimal.
However, Finch also noted some concerns about a specific public-facing institution.
“We’ve made numerous overtures to government about [the] Royal BC Museum. The management culture there is not appropriate. The board is not stepping up and doing its duty to hold senior management accountable,” Finch said.
CFAX 1070 has reached out to the Royal BC Museum to ask for comment from the board.
Finch suggested the government’s invitation to work on a deal could be described as an “informal,” reach out from the public sector employers council, which he said presented no change in the offer to the union.
“Yes, they did informally reach out to us, but they have not indicated they would like to start negotiations,” Finch said, adding that there was no enhanced wage offer.
He also said BCGEU civil servants are paid 2.7 per cent below the provincial average wage, and at this point the union has a clear mandate from its membership with 92.7 per cent voting in favour of job action.
Melissa Moroz, the executive director of the Professional Employees Association (PEA) also spoke today about members of her union picketing alongside BCGEU members as they all try to get a better deal. The two unions had previously made an agreement along these lines and ultimately hit on the same messaging about fair wages.
“The big issue here is money.”
Moroz said negotiations broke off in July, and they are now striking to secure fair wages. The PEA membership includes jobs psychologists, engineers and forestry sector workers.
“For our members, they do not take a strike vote lightly,” she said, adding that professionals in the public sector care deeply about the province’s success.