BCGEU says its members will begin walking picket lines Tuesday

The British Columbia General Employees’ Union says a portion of its members who work for the province’s public service will begin walking picket lines Tuesday after the union issued 72-hour notice of a strike last week.

The union says in a news release that its president, Paul Finch, will join striking workers on a picket line in Victoria.

The union has said a strike vote was called after a breakdown in negotiations between the union and the agency in July, and Finch told a news conference Friday that 92.7 per cent of members voted in support of job action “if necessary.”

He 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.

The release does not specify which members would be striking, but says there will also be picket lines in Prince George and Surrey.

The Union says 93 per cent of its members voted in favor of job action.

The vote was initially announced back in July after the union said negotiations with the province fell off, and members then began voting on August 11th.

Finch said the impasse was related to wages, work-from-home rules, and the need to modernize the contract.

“British Columbians know that working people need wages they can live on. That’s what it comes down to, and our members know that,” he said.

“Our message to government: revise your mandate and come back to the table.”

Union rejected the government’s offer

The union said the proposal it issued to the government in July asked for a two-year deal with wage increases for members at the lower end of the pay scale.

The government’s last offer was a 1.5 per cent increase in the first year and two-per-cent in the second year.

The union rejected the government’s offer.

B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Transit, Mike Farnworth, said that in the event of a job action, he health and safety services will be protected.

“In the event of job action, it’s important to remember that the services that protect health, safety, and the welfare of British Columbians will continue,” he explained at a press conference on Friday.

The BCGEU has about 34,000 members in fields including social services, health care, education, government liquor stores, prisons, courts and public administration.

More to come.